Therapy Tuesday: The 16 week curse

Beta seems to have forgotten that she's house trained. Sunday she peed in the house 3 times! I was so absolutely frustrated with her and mad. Instead of yelling, I took a deep breath and realized that maybe I missed taking her out. I might have been distracted cooking, or on the phone. I know for the last time she did it, I changed routine on her. She's just a puppy, they like routine. Changing something freaks them out and they get confused. I suppose that's just how it is. A lot of people say at the 16 week age, puppies forget a lot of skills they know. I hope she gets over this forgetfulness soon.

I am not super stressed about it. I took a deep breath, figured it was probably my own fault, and cleaned up the mess. There's not much you can do after the fact. You have to catch them in the act in order to correct the behavior. I have no idea what I'm going to come home to today since Beta has been a little under the weather. I believe it was mostly stress from the weekend since there was so many people and another dog in the house. She is used to quiet and just me being around.

The fact that I didn't totally freak out and sit down and cry and feel sorry for myself thinking 'how can I do this on my own' is a big step. I feel better and more able than I did last week. I'm hoping I can harness that "oh well, it doesn't matter" thought process more often this week.

Switch gears....
I know a lot of my stress came from the RCIA and how much work it's been. Now that I've been confirmed, I'm hoping that my level of anxiety starts ti disipate a little. I have 7 more Wednesday classes and then I am officially done. I have plenty of countdowns started and love seeing them come to a close.

• 7 more RCIA classes
• 2 more puppy classes
• 3 more days until my fiancé is home
• 1 year, 10 weeks until the wedding

After the first two countdowns are done, I will have a lot of time on my hands. I am looking foward to being able to put Beta in doggy daycare 3 times a week to get her socialized and tired. I am looking forward to using the time I will get back on myself and to grow the bonds I have with Beta. I need to start taking care of myself, and I feel like I will finally be able to do that once things start to come to a close.

One thing I learned from my retreat this past weekend was that taking 5 minutes to sit and reflect or pray can make a world of difference. I don't talk a lot about my faith, but I do call on God a lot for help, and I know I should take more time to listen, rather than just ask. It may reduce my stress more than I realize.