I came back from the taproom, Alessa, was there with Bogart. There were other dogs 🐕 there, one was a bit aggressive toward Bogart 😔 , another (a healer) got along very well with Bogart.

I am concerned because Bogart is scheduled for a surgery this Tuesday, getting neutered. I understand it’s necessary because otherwise.. well, I don’t even want to think about it. He’s only a toddler now.

I’d have to leave him at the vet at 7:30 am for the whole afternoon and pick him up after the surgery.. Will he be okay???

I am beside myself right now. Any advice, Alessa?

😢 Anita

Dear Alessa:

You are very welcome and thank you 🙏✨😊

Alessa the librarian- for some reason it makes me smile affectionately 🤍✨😊

You put your best into everything, Alessa. I admire that about you. 🙌 ✨

About money and anything else that makes me anxious- I avoid, postpone and I take it one day at a time, literally. I also repeat to myself every day a mantra that includes accepting situations I cannot change (radical acceptance) as well as radically accepting my emotions (no longer suppressing, no longer resisting what-is within me and without. This gives me access to energy otherwise wasted in futile resistance.

I had been distrustful of people- expecting people to be like my mother, to catch me off guard with accusations and insults and put downs 😔- much more than I am now. Progress has been made 😊

I am hoping to visit the local taproom for some socialization this afternoon. I hope you are sleeping restfully at this time 😴💤

🤍Anita

Dear Robi:

It’s been the warmest winter here, there’s been frost only for a week and no snow at all. I am imagining Robi building an igloo in the park🙂

read only a part of your post and am looking to thoroughly read and reply Thurs morning (it’s Wed afternoon here).

Please take good care of yourself, you deserve good care🙂

🤍Anita

No problems in regard to typos 🙂. It’s okay not being perfect.

I am using my phone and didn’t read but only a portion of your recent two messages.

I’ll read and reply later, but for now, seems like you’re attracted to men like your father (such a common thing), trying to .. fix your father by proxy of (Phillip, W), trying to connect with a person like your father.
Make him love you?

🤍 Anita

Dear Alessa:

You mentioned concluding your IT studies in two years. I am impressed by how persistent you’ve been in your studies while so much of your time and energy has gone into being a dedicated parent and dealing with health issues.

Truly, you are an inspiration 🤞👏👍

I am no stranger to financial worries, by the way. I just try to distract myself best I can. I’m avoidance, I guess 😔.

Also, my tendency is to be distrustful. I am working on it.

🤍 Anita

You are very welcome, Emma. It so happened I did have a good night (I just realized following you mentioning it 🙏)

Take your time with your answer. It doesn’t need to be a perfect or complete answer. Just a bit of this, a bit of that is good-enough 🙂.

Love 🤍 Anita

Dear Debbie:

LOL, it didn’t cross my mind that Bogart was on an Internet Knowledge Pursuit (IKP)😀.

Reads like (Mayo Clinic), you suffer from Primary Raynaud’s which occurs on its own and often begins between the ages of 15 and 30.

I noticed an alarming cold sensitivity in my fingers a winter or two ago- I thought that my fingers were freezing to death when holding something cold or when the temp outside was very cold. I suppose it’s age-related: blood vessels becoming less responsive, the tiny arteries in the fingers stiffening over time: they don’t widen (dilate) as easily to bring warm blood to the fingertips.

With age (I am reading), overall circulation to the arms and legs decreases, and even a mild drop in blood flow can make cold exposure feel extreme. Also, skin gets thinner= less insulating layer. And nerves can become more sensitive or less precise with age (which explains why my fingers felt like they were dying, even though they were not).

But age-related circulation changes differ from Raynaud’s in that they usually don’t cause dramatic color changes (white/blue/red) or numbness, and they are not triggered by mild cold or stress.

Thank you, Debbie, for this opportunity to understand things better.

In regard to Lexie, the similarities between dog psychology and human psychology amaze me. So, I am reading that puppies have a developmental window (roughly 1-3 months) where they learn what people are, what normal household life looks like, how to handle new people and places and how to trust, and Lexie missed that window of opportunity.

When dogs don’t get early socialization- new people feel threatening, new places feel overwhelming, and their default response becomes avoidance or fear. This explains why she’s loving with her person (“It was a long road but with me she’s a normal dog, very loving”) but fearful of everyone else.

Also, chronic stress= living in overcrowded, chaotic conditions creates learned helplessness, heightened sensitivity to noise, movement, and unpredictability, and difficulty regulating emotions (my own reactions to growing up with chronic stress).

The most beautiful part of her story is that despite everything- she trusts you; she knows that you are safe, and she can now be loving, stable, and content at home.

You are making a positive difference, Debbie, big time 🙏 🎉 👏

🤍 Anita

* $ 1000, that is