Too Many Projects, the Ruffed Pup, and the Compilation

Well, the furlough has gone on so long, I ran out of unemployment. So now I'm doing some Dash work. No big deal, as I can work on writing between orders. Chewy, my Yorkie, was very concerned about his bone stockpile and offered to help dash for bones. See him up there, so cute, but I'll get enough bones to keep him well supplied.

But, working in the car. Not the easiest. Can I lug the laptop? Yeah, but what of my massive screen? No. So, I decided to organize projects, as you can't haul it all in a mobile office.

I started listing projects I had and totally stopped and laughed and rolled on the floor with Chewy at the sheer number going? Over 50 daily projects to list and haul with me in rotation. This will allow my mind to focus a bit more on the road but does leave some bonus projects for home. There is no way I'd be able to split pages on a two page spread on my laptop screen to small for the software.

The right tool for the job always. But 50 plus projects already.

Now how do you organize something that big when it's mostly you? Oh, Hilary does help, but she has work too. I don't add to a volunteer's plate anything I can do until I can pay them for it.

But the number one volunteer is Chewy. Yep, and he wants his space on the Volunteer site.

He said if I didn't include him I was being a speciest and All Lives Matter, and they do.

I said, “Okay, Chewy, you can have a listing on the volunteer page as you merely had to ask but I was going to ask you soon enough in case you didn't think you could have one. Now what three links do you want that will give the kids some wise advice to the kids?”

"Three! Three... Just three. I have famous list that can't be contained to three."

I reminded him Volunteers can have a bonus page if they like so that satisfied him. But with the three‑link structure, he needed the “Temporary House” people (Humane Society), and then he needed the people who worked with animals hurt by meanies. And the last one we are negotiating. Ha ha ha. Not the page but who all he will include of that listing. All Lives Matter but sometimes people focus in on their group not realizing it.

He began to list all the famous dogs he had learned about, dogs working in K‑9 units, Alaskin Rescue Dogs, and famous acting dogs. The list of just dogs was so long it staggers the mind. But never in his rambles did he immediately kick in others, even though the dog focus is cute, I'd rather he be broader.

I asked him about a llama. He then remembered he liked the “big dogs” like horses and llamas. Ha ha ha. They aren't dogs but in his mind they are. I then asked him, “What about having a cat like Garfield?”

“Cat!” he yelled.

I was like, “Yeah, a cat or rat. Maybe Ratatoui?”

“We’re mortal enemies,” he ruffed out.

All lives matter means all lives, buddy. You matter because you exist. We diminish for every loss of spice and flavor. Did you know there have been cures for ancient diseases found in plants now extinct? Those lives mattered.

That plant mattered. That cure is gone. There is no group who should leave us. The life of the dodo bird was a sad loss. Everything has a place, every soul, and every being, and this is why I write about how to pull each other together and face down the prejudice before it consumes the world.

But go tell my dog he must include a cat or, worse, a rat. Yorkies were trained to help keep mills safe from rats. His instinct is to hunt them. But he doesn't need to hunt, so now he can work on the animosity that comes after a “long” war. Ah yes, the prejudice of war is hard.

What are you to do with that? I will explain it to him: how All Lives Matter also includes our enemies, and shouldn't he advocate for all of the animals and try to see past old grievances? The organizations he wants to promote are not just for dogs. And the first part of getting past a war can be meeting in the middle.

Image: The Christmas Truce, 1914 Illustrated by A. C. Michael (Arthur Cadwgan Michael, 1881–1965) Originally published in The Illustrated London News, January 9, 1915 Public Domain

Did you know there was a fight between soldiers that ended during Christmas in a temporary ceasefire? In 1914, during World War I, soldiers from both sides stopped fighting, met in no man's land, and exchanged Christmas gifts. No shots were fired and, for a little bit, the anger ended. We need to remember sometimes that everyone is a person who needs understanding, love, and compassion. I get it can be tough sometimes.

Setting things aside takes time, patience, and open communication to discover how we all do matter.

It can be overwhelming getting past old hurts and rightful pain. And that feeling can strike anyone from many directions, including when it's time to do a lot of work, and the best thing is to take a step back and organize a bit when it's something like work, chores, and homework.

Structure isn't a burden or a set rule for a writer or anyone. Schedules help us organize a PLAN for the day. Attending to a list of tasks is difficult, but making a plan to tackle them gives our minds a little less clutter up there.

Let's say you have a room that is full of clutter. You're like, “How do I start?"

Right, kids? If it is nasty but still kid‑doable, get some gloves on and start with a list.

Mine was —

Clothes,

Dishes,

Trash,

Toys and Books,

Change Sheets and Bedding,

Dust and Clean Surfaces,

Vacuum.

Structured and a mental list that made all the tasks into a plan of action. My mobile office is hardly suited for 50‑plus works at once. But with much to do, I had to organize my list of chores into a cohesive list, including now helping a dog look for famous cats, dogs, and other animals so he can build a new special page. The Animal Celebration for all of them which he can link to and that is a nice showcase in lives of all lives mattering. I always planned for him to Join the Volunteer Page, but he never said he wanted to join the roster.

Making his profile will take him a bit, researching such an important matter as wonderful animals in history is a vital task not to rush through that is also helped with a little organization.