Anything But Boring: Day 0.5

Last Updated on: 8th May 2023, 10:51 am

So here we are. I’ll be in a cab headed to Oregon to get guide dog no. 4 in a couple of hours. It has been a long journey with a speedy end, but here I am, ready or not.

And about the ready or not thing. Leading up to going, I had the most complicated set of feelings I ever remember having. I know I really want this, but at the same time, I worry that my reduced amount of walking because of this pandemic has left me out of shape. I’ve been running the stairs in our building to try and do some exercise, but is it the right kind? Am I going to be extra rusty in the orientation department?

Also, since the pandemic, I find myself more nervous and unsure of myself when I’m out with people. So I’ve been worried about whether I would annoy my classmates or my instructors or both.

Combine that with the usual new guide dog feelings stew and you have a recipe for panic. At least that’s what my mind brewed up. My feelings have been running from fear to excitement to everywhere in between. Thank goodness, right now, they’re settled on excitement and a bit of nervousness so that’s good.

I’m such a goof. When I figured out that in these times, you usually get about 2 weeks of warning, I decided to make a list of things that needed doing and packing in preparation for heading off to puppy school. Am I ever glad I did! That list kept me sort of sane and driving forward without wasting a bunch of time running around in circles. It was a huge list but I got it all done.

So I’m going to the same school, but a different campus than I’ve trained at before. The campus is in a town called Boring. Apparently it’s very rural, but we drive to bigger towns to do a bunch of our work. I expect that these two weeks will be anything but boring.

I really should take a tiny nap before it’s cab time. But here we go. Brace yourself for 2 weeks of guide dog journals!