I’m trying hard to stay involved and I want to socialize more. It would be easy to get into a funk and I won’t let that happen.

On Saturday, the 15th, I went to the Emergency Squad Banquet. The next day, I went to dinner (Sunday evening) with the Coopers and the Brooks, two super nice couples John and I enjoyed. They’ve continued to include me in activities but they also encourage me to do things on my own.

On Monday, the 17th, the Michigan Club had a potluck. My “date” was Evelyn, a widow friend I’ve known for years.

Last night (the 18th) I went solo to Karaoke night at the South Club. At first I sat where my daughter (Kelly) and I had met new folks on November 6th when she was visiting. I felt I had “connected” with one of the widowed ladies, but last night, she was preoccupied with others and I didn’t feel welcome. I’m realizing that just because I “need” friends, most single ladies already have their circles of friends and they aren’t always anxious to have another lady crowd into their group.

I did find one lady who had reached out to me (Brenda). She is a 2-year widow. She invited me to sit with her and others at a dance, and last night was very willing to have me join her table. I guess I just have to learn to wait for friendships. I can’t be too eager.

It’s all so new!

And speaking of new, Sophie (my new dog) has been a challenge. We have highs and lows. Sometimes she’s literally a little “shit” like this morning when she made a mess of her “bedroom.” She has puppy pads to help with house breaking but she’d walked through the stuff and it was awful!!! After I’d cleaned her and the room up, she crawled up in my lap and we had a cuddle session that felt great.

There are times when she runs non-stop for 15-20 minutes. I let her run but there are limits as to what I’ll let her do. She can’t pull on the floor length drapes. She can’t piddle on rugs. I’m trying to get her to understand that life is filled with “nos.”

Some days she’s totally affectionate. Other times she chews my fingers and it hurts. I’m learning that she’s doing what she’d do with other puppies. She just doesn’t realize that she can only “bite” down a little before it hurts. According to an article I read, I need to respond like her siblings would and let out a loud yelp. It has been helping when I respond loudly. I also bought a PetGentle device which makes an ultrasonic sound when you press the button. It’s supposed to be a way to let her know when she’s done wrong. She’s a baby. She has a lot to learn. So do I!!!

Socially I think I’ll do better when I can get out and about. It’s been cool and today rainy. No pool days for a couple weeks. In fact today, I was supposed to go to a 3:00 meeting but it was pouring and I wasn’t about to go out in it. (In fact it’s still raining hard.)