A Reset Can be Painful

Have you ever gotten so wrapped up with the everyday that you forgot to take the time to appreciate what you have? I believe this is, mostly, a rhetorical question for just about anyone. It definitely is for me. My wife and I run a local small business in Dayton, OH

and like any small business owners, we’re involved in many aspects of the business: Operations, Human Resources, Sales, Marketing and Finance. Being a married couple also brings its challenges as the business comes home as well.

The major challenge for us is that we sometimes forget to stop and appreciate the simple gifts we have in each other, family, friends … and pets. Yesterday was a tough day in our household. We lost a beloved pet, my buddy for the past 10 years. Striker was an Australian Cattle dog and unbeknownst to us, he had a tumor on his spleen that had ruptured. Up to that point, he was his normal high energy, please-throw-the-frisbee, jumping up on the bed and begging for table scraps canine. Like most family pets, he loved his pack.

This morning I woke up and he wasn't there to feed, sneak a table scrap to, or accept his requisite belly rub. I realized, that I too often forget to appreciate the simple things. Yesterday it was tough to have to put him down. The vet said there was nothing they could do: the cancer was too wide-spread.

This happened at a time when we are both so busy with the business and in the process of downsizing our house. You might be thinking that he was "just a dog," but anyone who has a beloved pet knows differently. Both my wife and I were devastated. It was a gut punch. I don't normally cry, but I did yesterday. It was over by lunch time and sadly, we had to go in to the office. The rest of the day we were both in a fog. It was a rough day to say the least.

Here are the lessons I learned.