The Five Ways Charlie has Changed my Life
I think it is safe to say by now that, if you follow me on any form of social media, you are aware Joe and I now have a dog. Not just any dog, but the cutest dog on the face of the planet. I know, I know, I’m biased, but so many people have said the exact same thing that I’m starting to think it is just an accepted truth? I mean, look at him! I walk through all of this in the IGTV episode introducing Charlie (below), but he is a Puerto Rican street dog that we rescued on November 5, 2019 from Safe and Sound Satos. Since that day, my life has been changed. I don’t mean that lightly and in any small sense, I mean it whole heartedly. He has, without a doubt, changed my life. I constantly ask Joe (almost too regularly to which it offends him), “what the hell was our life without Charlie?” One I never want to revisit, that is for damn sure.
Charlie came from extremely dire and sad circumstances (he was unfortunately the only one of his litter to have survived) and his gratitude for his new life is extremely clear. For more information on our adopting story, I interviewed the founder of the rescue SASS (below). He is loving, caring, kind, and vivacious. The boy loves to play with any dog he passes by, cuddle on the couch all night long, and use his voice to be included in the conversation. I swear, sometimes I truly think he is talking to me (and I’m still not convinced he’s not). And of course, how could I forget, his ears have a mind of their own. He’s still not quite sure what he wants to do with them so at any given time they are sticking straight up (usually when it is meal time), flopping down (cuddle sessions), leaning one direction or the other (when he’s listening or is aware he’s doing something he’s not supposed to), or one straight up and the other flopping (what I refer to as “Charlie drunk”, but usually when he just wakes up). I’m sure it’s clear by now, but I’m utterly obsessed.
I mentioned this many times on my Instagram and briefly comment on how much he has changed me for the better and helped with my anxiety, but I feel this topic is worthy of a blog post. So, here we are… the five ways Charlie has changed my life.
1. He provided companionship during my spells of loneliness.
Working for yourself is lonely. With so many entrepreneurs and people chasing after their dreams in today’s day and age I am always surprised that this is not discussed or mentioned more. My entire life I have been a part of a team (whether in the sense of the typical format in sports or in the corporate world) and I thrive off that format. Having people to converse with, to challenge me, and to bounce ideas off of has always been something I appreciate. This is one of the largest hurdles I have faced with working for myself. I’m not saying Charlie provides this for me (I’m still working on building a “freckled foodie team”), but he has provided me companionship in my times of loneliness. Without a team, working at home can be isolating. Having Charlie there as another physical living being has done things I could have never expected. He has provided me companionship that I didn’t know was possible to feel from an animal. Call me crazy (maybe I am??), but it is true.
2. He got me out of my own head and forced me to focus on and take care of someone other than myself.
Unfortunately, I can be a bit of an obsessive person. It is something I have worked incredibly hard on and am continuously trying to feel more comfortable in the “grey area”. With that, this career path I’ve chosen can sometimes, unfortunately, feed this behavior. With so much of my business focused on myself (my struggles, my habits, my accomplishments, etc), it is all too easy to get caught up in my own thoughts and focus too much time on myself. Acknowledging this was the first step, but it still did not provide an ample solution for who to then focus my time on. Turns out, Charlie was the solution. Instead of spending the down time in between work projects in a spiral of my own thoughts, my time is now spent focusing on Charlie and taking care of him.
3. He has provided me with aspects that in all sense of the matter would typically increase my anxiety but has made me a less anxious person.
For someone who is anxious around aspects of time, adding someone else to take care of to the mix doesn’t necessarily sound like the best idea. Unsure what I’m talking about? Let’s start with the simple and clear example of morning routines. I used to be a stickler to my morning routine and get extreme anxiety if I knew any portion of it was going to be cut short, disrupted, or missing. I feel an incomparable rush (and, not a good one), when I look at the clock in the morning… “how much time do I have to do X?” “Will I make it in time to Y?” “What happens if Z happens?” Not the calm morning routine you were hoping for, right? Either way, it is clear that the idea of adding an extra human and multiple tasks to this scenario would cause more of those emotions. However, it has done the exact opposite. Charlie has taken me out of my routines and realized that there is no “ideal” or “perfect” anything. Shit happens, and that is okay. There is more to life than whether I have time to drink my matcha before a workout and that should never be the telling sign of how my day will unfold. This is just one example of his assistance on the topic, but the list is extremely long. Another one? There is nothing in life that cannot be cured by the feeling of a loving puppy snuggled up and resting on your chest. He has assisted my anxiety in more ways than I ever could have imagined and, for that, I am forever grateful.
4. He has taught me what unconditional love looks like and the value of hard work with no financial return.
I should probably knock on wood as I type this, but there is nothing Charlie could do that would ever make me question my love for him. Fortunately for us, he is a pretty well-behaved dog, but, trust me, we’ve been tested (imagine waking up in a hotel room at 3AM to the scent of poop only to realize he has rolled around in his own diarrhea in his travel crate) He has taught us what hard work looks like, in the form of training and caring for, without any financial return. That may sound like an odd relationship, but as someone who is constantly tying financial returns to acts and working on removing that correlation and definition of success, this has helped immensely.
5. He has formed our family.
I love Joe with all of my heart and I always knew I wanted to start a family with him. I’ve been (and still am) ecstatic to see him as a father as I know he will be the best companion to raise children with. Charlie has been the start to our small family and I cannot wait for it to continue to grow. He has challenged us in ways that I can only imagine have helped in preparation for a human child, and there is nothing that brings me more joy than our family time spent together.
I know some of this may seem insane to you as you’re reading this post, and trust me, I get that. If I had read any of these things before Charlie I’d be thinking “this person has lost it…” but, fortunately for me, I now have Charlie and am feeling all of these seemingly odd emotions. If you’re a dog (or any type of pet) owner, I’d be curious to hear if any of this relates!