Change is in the Air

Hello to anyone still reading out there :)  Sorry for the radio silence lately...I'm working on updating the blog more frequently :)

A new year brings change, or something like that!  One thing that we can be certain of is that things will change throughout the course of our lives.  In my little corner of the universe, some changes have been wonderful and easy (meet Lucy, take Lucy home; meet Andrew, marry Andrew!)  Others have been a little less clear-cut and a little more scary.  Like the decision to quit my job....countdown begins...26 more days of work....whee!!!

When I started working as a starry-eyed new vet grad four years ago, I was lucky to find a fantastic boss to work for and even luckier that he has become a good friend.  Long hours weren't great but I could deal with them, and emergencies were "cool," even though they often meant 1 am arrivals at Friday night travel destinations rather than the expected 9 pm.  But over time things change.  Emergencies aren't cool anymore.  The cat who has been vomiting for 5 days and looks like death that comes in at 6:15 pm because the owner finally decides it should perhaps, maybe, finally be seen is just plain frustrating.  And vaccine appointments, even with 9 adorable golden retriever puppies, become really annoying when everyone you'd hoped to meet for a bike ride left while you're still in the exam room.  And helping clients you care about say goodbye to their beloved pets is something you're glad you can help with, but the emotional toll becomes hard to deal with. 

So, time for a change!  Of course no job is "perfect"....well, maybe living on an island in Australia and promoting tourism would be pretty close...but it's time to find something to do that is a bit less all-consuming for me.  I miss triathlon!  I miss bike rides with friends!  I miss having as much energy as I'd like for my family!

Enter "doggie physio."  My new dream in the work aspect of life is to open a rehab (can't call it "physio" in the animal world) and fitness center for dogs in London.  Lots of work, yes, but being able to set the schedule and work closer to home would be amazing.  Other mini-dreams could be realized along with it...becoming a 1 car family (which means extra savings and garage space for a chest freezer in which to store all of our own hand-picked and then frozen strawberries, blueberries, and other stuffs); a bit more mental energy for this swim-bike-run thing that Andrew and I love but haven't had much gas to do lately; and applying natural health care and exercise to help doggies out there!

Change is afoot...we'll keep you posted :)

A New Year's Winter Wonderland!

 An old post that was stuck in draft...  I figure I'll post it right now...


Happy winter and new year to everyone!  We hope that 2010 is off to a great start for everyone :) 

This year will defintely be an interesting one in the Kennedy house...Heather is making some job changes which are exciting, but a bit scary too as change always is!  No huge details yet, but it involves leaving her current clinic and opening a rehab/wellness center for dogs (and the occasional "special" kitty).  If it is meant to be, it will be....if not, we'll see what happens!  A bit of much-needed perspective for both of us lately has been to realize the place of work in our lives....we always have said that we work to live, not the other way around, but have been struggling a bit with that concept on and off.  Our jobs are important, sure, but don't define us :)  We're pretty excited to put a bit more focus onto other things including friends, family, and more training and racing than we've done in the past couple years...woo hoo!

Our holiday was a good one, full of lots of fun adventures and visits with good friends....the photos will tell the story!