Assignment #3:

Get a dog! No, really. I imagine that trauma workers have more pets than your average botanist or teacher. In-spite of the crazy schedules, in-spite of the low pay, nothing says comfort and soothing like a pup. I spent the first day weeping, for no reason that I could figure out. She unlocked something in me, and I probably needed a good cry. But by now, blogging with a dogs sweet head on my right foot, brown rice cooking and the cat doing who knows what, I feel at peace. It doesn't make sense- this will mean spending more time taking care of another being, BUT in a way that somehow manages to take care of me too. Already I've walked streets in my new neighborhood I've never seen, been in the rain more, laughed more, been sleeping better, getting up earlier, and happy to do so, not pushing snooze. We'll see.



*Bringing her home from the county shelter*

After two years of unknown history, time on the street and in a shelter, she, like many of our participants, like many of us at some point, needed a fresh start. And I do know that healing begins with the power of words, in this case, a name: Athena. The mythology of Athena captivated me on a trip to Greece this year with my Mom. I adored her because of her Owl totem (my cat is named Owl), and because she was both a badass warrior, and wise- focused on learning, and meaningful arts. I found a pendant in the winding streets of Santorini, pleasant to rub between my fingers and it makes me feel brave and whimsical with her serious profile on one side, and a rudimentary Owl on the other.



I fell for the Sanctuary of Athena at Delphi, in spite of being horrifically cranky that day, and couldn't get enough of the mysterious Tholos, a 4th-century-BC rotunda.





*Owl carving from nearly 500 B.C. that we saw in Athens*

So now I have an Athena and an Owl, and my wish is that we make each other happier, healthier, loving, and trusting in the goodness of people. Its something we could both work on, and what better way, than to do it together. Little ms. shy dog came to work today, and with my one foot inside an Ugg boot, and the other under a dog hiney, I heard the joy in my own voice as I returned calls- an enthusiasm that could almost sound fake. But for the truth of it.