New Year!

Welcome to 2022!!

The holidays to me are…. exhausting. There’s so much stress and running around with making sure the house is decorated, the tree is up, the cookies are made, the presents are purchased and wrapped…the list goes on and on! But it’s also such a fun time of year to see family and friends and make time for merriment! And if you guys are anything like me, you know that the dogs each have their own stocking, and we always make them homemade treats, and buy them a bunch of new toys and bones as their gifts. This year, all three of them sat patiently around Connor’s feet as he opened their stockings one-by-one and passed out new bones and treats. Croi is so funny with new bones – he always grabs it and looks you for a second like to confirm, ‘This is for me, right?’ Then turns and trots off to his crate to eat or chew in peace. He is a private chewer. Killian and Tully, on the other hand, I’m convinced don’t even always taste the treats, they are gone so fast! Especially Tully…. but that dog will eat plain lettuce, so I’m not sure he has a very refined palate. I do love including the pets in our holiday traditions though, and I even go as far as making sure my sister’s dog and cat each get a gift, and same with Tom’s parents and his sister’s cats – no immediate family pet left behind on my watch!

Once we trek through the holidays, a new year always feels like a new beginning to me - a fresh slate – 365 chances at something new. Whether that something new is changing your routine, getting a new job, trying a new hobby, or even getting a new pet….it’s a great time to refocus and change our trajectory. I’m definitely a list person, and extremely goal oriented (can you tell??). So I love making some resolutions and thinking through my goals for the year. (But remember, this is not for everyone, and that’s ok!)

I also have a love-hate relationship with January. It’s always a little sad to be done with all the Christmas plans and to take down the decorations, but it also feels nice to declutter the house and get back into more of a routine! I also love snow, like a small child, so January typically has lots of chances for snow (as we have seen this week!). For me, it’s nice to slow down a little this time of year and take stock of the things that really matter. I know one of my resolutions is to try to be less busy – this one is lofty for me. I think it is important to slow down, enjoy the scenery so to speak, and be ok with just being for a time. Having a whole weekend where our only plans are to go hiking – that sounds lovely to me. I am so busy, that slowing down is hard, but I am sure going to try for 2022. I also love to travel…so hitting some new destinations this year is on the list! More family game nights, more hiking with the pups, and more reading also top my personal list.

As far as ‘Dr Beth’ goes….my main goal is to continue to grow as a leader to help lead my team at Pennridge to be the best practice we can be. To lead with compassion and heart, and to continue to help our community and their pets! Our practice has gotten so big – it’s so humbling to be at the front leading this team of amazing people, and it’s so important to me that we don’t lose our heart, which is the reason we started this practice in the first place. So this is a big one! I also want to keep writing these blogs and start up some more client education series (like my ask a vet question and answer sessions over on FB!), and some other fun social media ideas I have for entertaining and educating! For the rescue too…. I would love to do another spay/neuter or vaccine clinic this year, ship more supplies to our friends down on BCI (since we can’t go again just yet), and save lots more lives in general through rescuing. Honestly, my goal lists start to get lengthy…lol. Always looking ahead!

My point in this blog? I think it’s important to have goals – they help give us something to work towards, and for lots of people they help keep you motivated. But with how crazy the world has been, I also want to make the point that I think an amazing goal is also to just be happy. Or to survive for right now, or to not have any goals at all – that’s ok too! Every person is different, and every person has different needs right now! So, remember to give yourself some grace and patience, since we all deal with things differently. And that is OK. Be kind to yourself and to others, and I think you will have a great year!

Here’s to 2022 – may you all find blessings and joy!! What are some of your goals?? Make sure you include your pets!! And also…what else should I write about?? I would love some suggestions of topics – like more medical case examples? More lists of ideas to do with your pets? More stories from Harley’s Haven or BCI? More stories about my dogs and life?? You tell me what you want to see and I can make it happen! Thank you for reading!!