One of our newest additions to the family is a rescued mixed boxer, German shepherd, hound mix. He is the absolute naughtiest dog we have ever brought into our family, yet we still adore him, I mean, we all have our faults.

Recently while I was away, someone let him out of his crate and he climbed onto the dining room table and brought down a fountain pen and went to town. After he drained it of all its glory, he proceeded to walk around the house and explore to see what else he could get into……..my room, the bathroom, kitchen, family room, entryway. You are probably wondering how I knew where he had explored, well, his footprints showed me his path. The mess he made of the ink not only pooled onto the carpet where he initially devoured it, but all over his paws and he went on a journey around the house leaving his adorable calling card with every step.

I have to be honest, I just wanted to cry. Living with chronic illnesses makes normal cleaning difficult, but the thought of having to get down on my hands and knees for days on end was overwhelming. But, I reminded my self that even though it was a huge mess, it didn’t have to be cleaned up in one day, some messes are just too big to be resolved quickly.

So you are probably wondering why in the world I am sharing a story about my dog leaving ink footprints all over my house, well, it is because it’s life. We all end up with a huge black ink spot in our lives at times, our health, finances, relationships and even if the mess was created in minutes, it can take a lot more time to clean it up, remove the mess that was made, and restore it back to it’s original state, if that is even possible. We need to encourage ourselves to see that no mess is too big, it just takes time. It takes hard work, dedication to see it through the process, and to be kind to ourselves while we are taking care of it. And, the messes that are of no fault of our own take a lot more fortitude to see through to the end.

Wishing you a day with few, if any, ink spots.