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Perspective
Sep. 12th, 2005 09:40 pmYou know what? I had a lousy day at work today. Lots of sick animals that I couldn't do very much to help, lots of clueless owners, at least a few sick pets where the problems were caused by cluelessness. And I was going to sit down here and write an angry, grumpy rant about just how cruddy my day, and the world in general, is.
But before I did that, I had some other tasks that needed to be done. Things like calculating my quarterly tax payment, guaranteed to compound my mood. And laundry. And counting the pennies from my Katrina jar.
Yeah. A penny jar. Because, like most of the other people I know, I felt the overwhelming and gut-gnawing need to Do Something, Damnit about the situation. And I couldn't. At least, I couldn't get my hands dirty doing something, and that's what I wanted to do. Part of me wonders what the point is in having all these useful medical skills if I can't use them to help out those who really need them, instead of puttering my day away vaccinating kittens and trimming nails.
Everyone I knew was focusing on helping out in their area. Seamstresses were sewing stuff, SCAdians were collecting for other SCAdians, pagans were helping pagans, fans were helping fans. So, being both a bleeding-heart animal lover and a somewhat overgrown six-year-old at heart, I pulled out my first-grade arts and crafts skills, my back-issues of the Journal of the American Veterinary Association, and a mason jar. Half an hour later, I had a 'Pennies For Pets' collection jar - all funds to go to the American Veterinary Medical Foundation's disaster teams that are currently working on animal care and public health in hurricane-hit areas.
The jar has followed me from clinic to clinic for about a week now. I've been emptying my pockets into it every moring - a nickel here, a dollar there, and I didn't really expect anyone else to chip in. It's a silly, corny idea, even if it does have pictures of sad puppies on it.
I counted out the money from it tonight. Over $50. In pennies, and nickels, and dollar bills, from staff members and clients and who knows who else. It's not much. It's not going to hold a candle to big companies and benefit funds and stuffed-animal drives. But.... it's a start, and it makes me feel slightly less worthless. And I can keep on tossing in my own dollars and cents, and in another week I'll have that much more. And maybe it'll keep me from beating my head against the wall over how frustrating and miserable clients can be for another day....
But before I did that, I had some other tasks that needed to be done. Things like calculating my quarterly tax payment, guaranteed to compound my mood. And laundry. And counting the pennies from my Katrina jar.
Yeah. A penny jar. Because, like most of the other people I know, I felt the overwhelming and gut-gnawing need to Do Something, Damnit about the situation. And I couldn't. At least, I couldn't get my hands dirty doing something, and that's what I wanted to do. Part of me wonders what the point is in having all these useful medical skills if I can't use them to help out those who really need them, instead of puttering my day away vaccinating kittens and trimming nails.
Everyone I knew was focusing on helping out in their area. Seamstresses were sewing stuff, SCAdians were collecting for other SCAdians, pagans were helping pagans, fans were helping fans. So, being both a bleeding-heart animal lover and a somewhat overgrown six-year-old at heart, I pulled out my first-grade arts and crafts skills, my back-issues of the Journal of the American Veterinary Association, and a mason jar. Half an hour later, I had a 'Pennies For Pets' collection jar - all funds to go to the American Veterinary Medical Foundation's disaster teams that are currently working on animal care and public health in hurricane-hit areas.
The jar has followed me from clinic to clinic for about a week now. I've been emptying my pockets into it every moring - a nickel here, a dollar there, and I didn't really expect anyone else to chip in. It's a silly, corny idea, even if it does have pictures of sad puppies on it.
I counted out the money from it tonight. Over $50. In pennies, and nickels, and dollar bills, from staff members and clients and who knows who else. It's not much. It's not going to hold a candle to big companies and benefit funds and stuffed-animal drives. But.... it's a start, and it makes me feel slightly less worthless. And I can keep on tossing in my own dollars and cents, and in another week I'll have that much more. And maybe it'll keep me from beating my head against the wall over how frustrating and miserable clients can be for another day....
