Sometimes I fall into a lot of paralyzing anxiety, deep grief and frustration that comes with this work, and/or critical exhaustion, and it’s hard for me to do much more than what needs to get done for the animals and the big projects we are working on. When it happens, it’s not easy for me to keep up with social media, and I miss telling you so many things happening that are important or promoting the things that we desperately need to.
It often happens when we need you more than ever, which is really a bad thing. Day to day, the work is spread over a lot of people, but everyone depends on me to keep up with the social media because without it, without YOU, the sanctuary wouldn’t exist. That is a crushing amount of pressure.
On top of that, for an org which animals depend on, it’s a very vulnerable place to ever admit you’re struggling, physically, mentally, financially or emotionally, for fear someone think you’re unfit for the work you do or think that the animals don’t have what they need. There is exhaustion just in always having to project superhuman sanity and competence. That’s not a rational expectation of any single human (which is why we have a whole team of caretakers.)
We have lots of updates, some losses we need to talk about, and we are still trying to buy the land next door, which the future of the sanctuary, at least in this location, hinges on.
We still haven’t talked about losing Lilah, and we will. But today, I just have the energy to talk about the blossoming friendship that is finally happening between Lilah’s best friend Frances and our little baby amputee, Valentina. Frances was so sad for so long, and she was mean to poor little Val, who just wanted to be loved. In an instant, they began to relax and cuddle up together in a way that is incredibly comforting and necessary for a goat’s emotional health. I hope you can see the absolute beauty in this cozy exchange between them.
Things are hard and stressful here right now. Thank you for sticking with us, we hope to be shiny and new very soon. Your shares, comments, love and support mean a lot. Yes, the floods and losses are heavy, but the aftermath of digging out is the toughest part.
