An Eye-Opening Lesson from My Dog about Obnoxious Independence

It all started when my dog chewed a golf-ball size hole in the living room rug. It's hard to believe this little guy could do something so dastardly right? Look at him.

I covered the hole with the heaviest book handy, The Action Bible, to keep him from making it bigger.

Everyone in the family stepped over and around that Bible for 9 months!

Why on earth?

Because to hide the hole would require rearranging the entire room of massively heavy furniture to shift the rug.

And moving massive furniture would require I ask people to help me.

I finally broke down and got the kids to help. It might have been easier to find a couple cooperative strangers but … hindsight.

In the process of moving, the sectional sofa came apart — ack! It had taken 2 burly men to get the sections to click together when it was delivered.

So, the hole in the carpet was FINALLY hidden but now there was a big gap between the sofa sections ugh!

That gap in the sofa has been irritating me and taunting me for months.

This past weekend, I was looking forward to a rare Sunday of resting and relaxing.

I plopped down on the sofa to read (Find Your People) and there staring at me … the gap. The backside was even worse. See? 

I threw off my cozy blanket in a huff and started pulling off cushions.

After an inordinate amount of pushing, kneeling, squatting, shoving, lifting, pulling (and I admit some cursing) … the pieces still moved apart with ease like opening elevator doors but without the ding🎵.

At some point my son came in and watched as I attempted to move a 352 pound couch by myself and wisely said, “Mom, I think you need to wait on this, until you get someone to help you.”

Of course I didn’t listen. I kept trying. I wanted this problem fixed and I was tired of waiting and surely I could DO THIS!

Well as you can guess, I couldn’t. I didn’t. It was an exercise in futility.

(I did take the opportunity to vacuum the crumbs, feathers, and dirt from underneath the cushions and straighten the room so there’s that.)

(Before and After — All was not lost)

You know what sucks even worse than taking on a project that was destined to fail and wasting my precious time? Making the same mistake over and over again.

I should have asked for help.

If I’d asked for help moving the rug, we wouldn’t had to have step around that stupid Bible on the floor for 9 months.

If I’d asked for help connecting the couch, I wouldn’t have wasted SO much time and energy … on a Sunday … we could have gone out for lunch or maybe even a movie.

So, why am I telling you this?

I felt the need to confess. I tell you to ask for help (instead of trying to manage life and loss all by yourself) … and I didn’t take my own advice.

Don’t be like me OK? Don’t be obnoxiously, insufferably independent. Don’t do life alone. Especially don’t do grief alone.

Reach out to the people who love you and want to help you. It will save your life ... and your back.