New Month, Different Outlook

The past week was certainly full of its ups and downs, both weighing in heavily. Let's start out with the good. On Wednesday, we were blessed with two very special visitors: two of the three Bedlingtons in the entire state of Kentucky came in for a groom! Even thinking about them now, I can't get over how cool they were! Both brothers were very used to being groomed; it was fun to watch, and even more fun to play with them afterwards. What sweet dogs! You'd never guess they were originally bred to square off in a battle royal with each other.

Now, not everyone was interested in seeing them, one of several things that prompted our instructors to blow everything out of the water, rather out-of-the-blue, the next morning. While it changed the atmosphere into a friendlier one, everyone felt the tensions the episode caused, including myself. Eventually a part of me just collapsed inside; I had to step out and recollect myself. I really hate that feeling. At least Tim came outside to give me a pep talk and help me build my spirits back up.

I feel incredibly blessed to have Tim as one of my instructors. He feels less like a teacher, and more of a buddy, which I find rather beneficial considering some of my past "schooling experiences". I have a lot to learn, now I just need to figure out how to pick his brain to get that information out!

Back to the good, Sunny and I decided to go to BW-3's last night with one of our other classmates, Dianne. We talked about a lot, and I feel like it was a huge relief to get things off our minds. Food was great, the restaurant was buzzing with football excitement, and there was lots of good beer! Plus, they both took some playful shots at me when I told them about the salsa-dancing dream at Groom Expo... that's all I'm saying, hehe!

We've come to the conclusion that there is indeed some trouble in paradise, but we're going to steer clear of the storms as best we can, or at least ride them out. As I said yesterday, we've got to keep our eyes on the prize. Knowledge, technique, expertise - it's all going to our future salons! We're here to learn, and nothing is going to get in our way!

Once again, I'm already looking forward to the end of the weekend. In the meantime, I've set up a goal to read one article a day from Jean Donaldson's Dogs are from Neptune. If I'm going to be a pet pro, I'd better know all the best!