Journey to 1000 Paper Cranes

  My favorite pandemic birthday wish I like to send to a few of my favorites Day 33:  I never imagined that Friday in November that I would be this close to being done with folding 1000 paper cranes.  One thought was maybe I could be done by my birthday, January 12th.  I'll be done within the week, unless something major throws that off.  So excited to start the next part which will be stringing them with blue beads.  It was a long day at work, not a bad day just a long day and I had a couple errands after work so wasn't home until almost 7:30pm.  So appreciated my friend Kendra checking in on me, making sure I was doing okay regarding the grief of losing our dog Ming.  Several clients have been asking as well.  When I got home I had quite a bit of pain in my upper back, neck, shoulders, and that darn wrist so I decided an Epsom salt bath was overdue.  Felt really really good.  On this day I had folded some paper cranes in the early...

  Lau, the snuggle bug of the crew Day 29:  Our youngest dog, Lau turned 8 on this day!  He is the sweetest most snugly dog I have ever owned.  Literally 80lbs of dog will come and climb on the couch to rest on my chest and while I could never sleep that way it sure does keep the blues away.  I decided to take our oldest dog Loki (14 yrs) to work with me.  He's the lucky one that always gets to come because Lau with his long legs is insane to take in the car.  I've had to buy a dog seat belt just to keep him from jumping up front and trying to drive the car!  He's a bit rambunctious as well and is my husband's favorite work companion.  Zen would be great to bring in but he does tend to shed a lot and his gas is horrendous, really it can clear a whole room easy.  My mood is always elevated when Loki is with me.  Every client seemed to appreciate him, watching as some got right down on the floor with him, watching as he snuggled up to...

  Day 28:  Have I told you about my right wrist pain?  Well it is something that has come and gone prior to this project but boy oh boy the pain has been more present with this project.   Thankfully I started my day with Sarah, my acupuncturist and ended with Adrian, my new massage therapist .  How come I had never thought of doing this before?  I mean to start and end a work day like this was glorious!  On this morning I challenged my friends to guess the date of when I will complete the folding of 1000 paper cranes.  So far the earliest date is 12/10 and the latest date is 12/23.  There are a few dates that would be meaningful to me like Emily's birthday, Uncle Hal's birthday, or Jeremy's birthday.  Today is our youngest dog's birthday!  Lau is 8 today, I think we have to celebrate.  By end of day I folded 17 paper cranes.  I was able to fold some at work again.  Can't wait to start stringing beads with them!...

  Day 23:  This day was one of my college best friend's birthdays.  We became fast friends our first year in college and she is one of the most loyal, fierce, friends I have ever had.  She lives in Virginia with her spouse and two sons, my heart aches that I am not able to visit them now with COVID restrictions because I'm in a place financially and have the freedom with work to work remotely if need to.  Something to look forward to.  I've been wanting a kitten for awhile.  Our kitty Sensei ran away in September, I'm fairly certain she isn't living any longer.  I love young animals, not thinking we'll have four dogs again but a kitten - that would make my day.  In the mean time after checking in with my Aunt Gayle and hearing how my cousin Micah got a fish tank and is enjoying watching his play I decided it was time to get one myself.  Last night the tank arrived.  The rock should come tonight so I'll be able to get everything set ...

Day 24:  Today I focused on folding,  I put away the stickers and folded my little heart out.  I did take a nap.  I had a sweet conversation with a dear friends.   I joined the public for a bit but mostly I was home, snug in my pajamas with my dogs.  It has been nice as I've made a point of reaching out to friends this week.  I've needed them and they've been a great comfort.  Back to work today, I'm looking forward to the routine of it.  While I didn't quite beat my daily best I got within 2 with 62 paper cranes completed by the end of the day.  (793/1000)

  Day 20:  This day was tough and that is an understatement.  Our rescue dog Ming has been struggling and waking up in the middle of the night so our day started at 3:30am and we didn't get back to sleep.  I only worked until a little past one because we had scheduled to put him down at 2pm.  Felt honored to be with my guy until the end.  That part was easier than I anticipated.  The hard part was coming home.  Not doing our regular medication routine, not having him under foot, not hearing him growl protecting his bone or talk about how he wants another one with more peanut butter.  The silence is deafening.  I thought I would sleep good last night because I had been up so early, had cried, and was exhausted.  Didn't fall asleep until abou1 11:30pm.  Decided to fold 12 cranes, for the 12 great years he gave us.  Blessed to have been his mom.  (679/1000)

Day 14:  One of the unexpected things that brought me a smile was that a good friend and former co-worker sent me a photo of the crane I sent her sitting on her desk.  She let me know it was helping spread peace.  Andrea was one of two who had guess correctly on how many minutes it took me to fold 10 paper cranes (see previous posts).  She also sent me this photo. I was pretty tired this day as I have been waking up with one of our dogs every night for almost a week now.  We're thinking he's experiencing the early signs of dementia as his sleep schedule is totally off and he wakes up and then is barking until one of us is with him.  Previously we thought he was experiencing more pain because he has severe hip dysplasia as well as a progressive neurological disorder.  We are going to start him on a new medication to address cognition.  Fingers crossed we find something that works.  This day I also practiced stringing my first paper crane....

Day 12:  This was a long day at work with clients starting at 9:30am and going until 7:00pm.  My lunch break was my own counseling appointment while eating lunch.  Was very grateful for that because he provides me consultation to brainstorm when I have questions about clients and what might be best for them.  He gave me a lot to ponder.  I got home pretty tired, well I started out pretty tired.  One of our dogs has really been struggling with sleep lately often waking up once or twice in the night barking.  We've started a new medication for him to address pain and I made another call to see what might help get him to sleep through the night.  He's already taking an anxiety medication.  I contemplated not folding any cranes but then thought, why not just one?  And so the lone ranger was folded and I felt really good about that.  I'm glad I thought to take care of me.  Today I had a little fun taking a photo of a photo I've take...