Yesterday I met a person who said he’d always been interested in working with youth and I found that so commendable. For my part, not only have I never liked working with people, but youth have scared the bejesus out of me ever since I was a kid. It was so bad that, up until some (few) years ago, I used to cross the road if I saw several young lads gathered at a street corner. I guess having a dog changed it. With Sam, I’m the lady with the white dog and even tough kids address me politely to know his age or his breed.

When I come to think of it, having Sam changed me so much for the better, I don’t even know where to begin. Norway is a country where chatter on the street or on the bus just doesn’t happen, unless you have small kids or a dog, that is. In that case, people come to you smiling and wonder if he’s hot (in this summer weather!), or they simply blurt out on the street “This must be the neighbourhood’s most beautiful dog!”. And just like that, walking around the block is no longer a lonely affair, everybody nods at you and wants to pet your dog.

But back to people. I don’t know about you, but I’m forever oscillating between “you gotta love people” and “Earth would be such a nice place had it not been populated”. And when you work with people, that’s a pretty shitty approach. The latter, that is. So shitty that I actually booked an hour with a new psychologist to see if there are any tools to make it easier. Because I like normal people, don’t get me wrong. It’s people in distress I can’t handle, mostly because their distress tends to affect me, too. Does anything I say make sense for you? And do you have any suggestions to make my professional life easier? 😉

Going out for a walk with Sammy and then we’ll have a coffee in town. The two of us. Best buddies forever.

xxx, Alina