I had a really bad day last week. The kind where you have to leave the office, walk around the block and remind yourself to take deep breaths. The kind where you aren’t free for lunch until 3 p.m. And when you get home, you head directly to the neighborhood liquor store. I tried to shake the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day feeling, but it was impossible to overcome, especially when I didn’t get home from work until 9 p.m.

The glass of red wine wasn’t hitting the spot, so a few sips in I switched to milk. Then I craved the comfort of Natalie’s creamy breakfast and made it for dinner. Oatmeal in hand, I curled up on my bed to find an e-mail from my dad with the most recent videos of the new puppy my parents brought home days earlier. Zoe, a six-pound Wheaten Terrier/Poodle mix (enjoyably enough called a Whoodle) has become the object of my father’s affection, necessitating a 23-minute video recap of the puppy’s Fourth of July. Over the course of the holiday weekend, I received 27 pictures (not including ones from text messages) and 10 videos. I’ve seen Zoe sit and sleep and pee. I’ve seen her explore and play and eat. I’ve pretty much seen her do everything a puppy does.

But the video in my inbox Monday night was just what I needed, despite my overflowing archive of Zoe footage. The video of the day, entitled “Zoe’s First Monday,” included lots of attempted jumps on furniture and playing with toys. I replayed the four-minute video, laughing uncontrollably every time she leapt up, only to tumble over, which was the majority of the clip. Then I cried, because I was tired from working late, upset by the way I’d been treated that day and jealous that I couldn’t play with this dog in person.

As I sat on my bed, feeling silly for crying while watching a dog play, I recounted the people in my day who had comforted me and tried to make me feel better. Then I got out my box of thank you notes I kept meaning to use but always put off, and I wrote to people at work who were nice to me. I had dwelled enough on what had upset me and that wasn’t going anywhere. I took writing breaks to watch Zoe unsuccessfully get up on the couch, and I meandered on youtube until I found a cover of 9 Crimes by a woman whose voice just pierced my heart.

I thanked people until my heart was a little less heavy and was my soul was a little less sad. And then I went to bed, finally feeling like I’d made my peace with the day and that a huge weight had been lifted from me.

6 Responses to “Thank you”

1. Nat Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 8:06 am

   Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand why people have pets. I’ve never loved an animal. Now I understand a little better.

2. Marisa and Creative Thursday Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 11:44 am

   beautiful Jacky. I’m so sorry to hear about your bad day, but love this story about how you found your way out of it.

3. Kathleen Ingraham Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 12:13 pm

   Ah, I loved this. My parents have a whoodle too!

4. Aimee Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 2:45 pm

   Jacky… you say it best. Sometimes when I’ve had long hard days and I’m so far from home (Kansas will always be home), its nice to think of my puppies. Maybe I should start writing thank you notes again as well… good work my friend.

5. Alice Hill Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 7:14 pm

   Jacky, I’m so sorry that you have to endure the bad stuff at your workplace. I admire you for running in the heat, dealing with your frustrations and coming up with a solution. I hope that each day from now on gets better and better!

6. Aunt Patty Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

   Jacky Anne, We all love you and just because we are far away, don’t forget that we are always with you in spirit. My prayers are with you and I am proud of the way you deal with your problems. You are a strong woman!! Love and hugs xoxoxo

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