Guilt Appreciation Day

In Honour of Flip's Seventh Birthday!
Yesterday. MORE guilt:(
I've decided, today, that my guilt is to be embraced, embraved, displayed. I am guilty of so many things. I don't walk my dogs enough. I don't always enrich their lives enough, and I knew that before I read Temple's wonderful book. Temple just helped me feel some more guilt.

Enriching lives, I don't do that enough. My poor, pooor dogs. Guilt.


Why did I get a puppy, just how could I torture poor Flip this way?
Flip is the master of the aggrieved, mournful, tragic expression. When my husband gives Blaze affection, Flip practically sobs.

Further Guilt Trips.
I'm so sorry. I should have insisted that my parents become activists against the big corporations, and embrace the "live off the land" ethic. I tried to warn them of my misgivings about their carbon-sucking lifestyle, from my earliest sentient days, but they just wouldn't listen. Plus, my darned older, smaller sister was talking my ears off. I feel responsible (and guilty) for the strange apathy that overcame me.

I did my best, but it just wasn't enough. As soon as we moved to Ontario, I stopped talking, found a barn, and starting walking.
Later, as the barns moved further north of Steeles, which was the city/country boundary once, in centuries ago days, I was too busy hitch-hiking to the barn to stop the societal madness I could clearly see brewing.
Horses are truly my very first guilt.

And in this day and age, indeed, they are a fairly guilty pleasure. Even though I'm not "in horses" at all anymore, I can still feel guilty about horses. Amazing. Heck, I made skipping classes an art form so I could ride. My absences were higher than my grades. Look where ThaT got me. Guilt.

Talk about muscle memory. Too bad my brain isn't a muscle. Maybe I could somehow make it fitter again, and feel less guilty.

I think I missed the memo about horses becoming pets. I was far enough away from the horse universe by then. It does occur to me, now, that my horse-owning friends have mainly "pets". When a horse is worth less than a purebred dog, something has gone completely wrong in the universe. This is just the way I was raised, don't shoot me.

I am not guilty of owning horses. I know I can't afford one, and I will not risk my heart, nor the well-being of the animal, to own one. So I do not.

But horses will be so sad. My nephew told me that, just a little kid, when I finally had to tell him I was getting out. Guilt.


Employment Guilt.
I am guilty of attempting to run my business honestly for the past 24 years. My biggest single problem in my life has always been my honesty when dealing with people. I feel guilty, for being honest. I have one heck of a time keeping my patience. Guilt.

Final Guilt Trip of the Day...
I'm sorry I turned on the Canada/USA Olympic Hockey game. Within thirty seconds, three Canadian Players collided, one not getting up, and then the USA scored the go-ahead goal.
sigh. I Promise NOT to watch Canada against Germany! That should help.

You're welcome, Canada.