Life changes?
Or at least that's what I've always been told.
I've never really sat down to examine how my life has changed or noticed it changing until today. And it really wasn't anything too drastic, just maybe a small change in personality.
One of my coworkers and I were having a discussion about how working at PetSmart has changed our attitudes toward animals. Typical conversation that ended up leaving me pondering in thought.
When I first started working there, I wasn't really focused on the emotional bonds you are able to make with the animals you work with, but more with the routine of working with them. Making sure gerbil is fed, and chameleon is misted, and this and that. I guess you could say the "technical aspects" required of my job. But then as time went on, I adjusted to more of an emotional care for them. I want to make sure my animals have clean cages, fresh water and food, interesting toys, a loving home to go to, etc. I learned what they needed and why they needed it.
Shelter dogs aren't just dogs. They are just as loving, if not more, than these "pure bred, registered, name brand" snippy yip yap dogs my snippy yip yap customers bring in. I find myself advising customers to check the shelter for a new puppy, or check the shelter for an old companion, or check the shelter for a this and that. All my answers have been check the shelter. "Care for those in need, not just a breed." Thankfully, the PetSmart I work at is partnered up with NoKill shelters, but I am not sure if all PetSmart's are. My heart goes out to those animals more than I realized... Shelter life is heartbreaking to me. Just thinking that a dog like my Allie doesn't have a permanent mommy makes my eyes water.
My personality change extends beyond just animals. I find myself mothering the small children that wonder into my department, taking it upon myself to soothe the crying baby whose mom is looking at fish with a younger sibling, taking the time to speak to the little ones who's days I make when I hand them their new pet. I don't know what it is, but those are the moments that make my job not really a job. The moment I've saved a little girls fishie, or doctored brother's lizard, or even given Mom courage that maintaining a cage isn't as hard as it seems. The emotion that comes across their face is one of complete and total thankfulness which is translatable in any language. I guess that's considered a matriarchal trait that I find is developing more and more as I age.
And with this matriarchal trait developing, I often find myself thanking God for the women who have raised me. Not just my mother, but my aunt, and my grandmothers. I swore I'd never have kids, but I think as of today, I want them. Not anywhere in the near future, but definitely in time. I still have a lot of living that I want to do so that when the time does come, I can devote my life to my children and have no regrets.
Maybe I did have some what of a little personality change recently, but I'm okay with it. I think it was a positive change. Back to my opening line...Life changes? Maybe somewhat, but I think what really happens is that we change in life. We grow up and begin to approach life in a different manner. A different mindset... maybe it is maturity?
