I haven't written an update in a while, and I apologise. It's the longest gap since I started this blog. But it's been a lot recently.
My work went through a big restructure and I was made redundant from my job of 10+ years. I secured another role through the redeployment process, but it's been a couple of months of adapting to a completely different role, a new boss, and farewelling my wonderful team.
On top of that, changes to my work from home days meant George had to adapt to a new routine - plus the ongoing challenges of supporting an anxious dog.
Although writing this blog is usually something I really enjoy and find cathartic, I haven't had the time or mental space to write anything recently. I apologise to those who regularly read updates. But I'm back!
Things are starting to settle down a little, although we're (mainly me) still finding our feet. George found his feet much more quickly than I did.
With more regular daycare days, we've added in regular sessions at the special needs daycare alongside his usual one. I definitely don't want to pull him from somewhere he's familiar with and does well at - it would be near impossible to get him into a regular daycare again.
On the special daycare days, he gets picked up from home, and he's doing so well with this now. I walk him out to the road, as he tends to be more anxious and on high alert immediately outside the house, and we get up extra early so his meds have definitely kicked in by then. But he's a creature of habit — after maybe two or three pickups, he happily hops into their car, excited to be going. It's so wonderful to see.
Things like that give me hope. Things I never would have thought George would cope with have now just become part of our routine. And I must admit it's fantastic not to have to drive in the wrong direction to drop him off at the start of a busy commute.
He's doing pretty well with the changes overall - there are pros and cons. On his third daycare day in a row, he's pretty tired, but he manages. He rests when he's tired now, which he didn't used to do. And although the days are less spread out, he gets quite a long break from daycare - usually four days in a row with me, which gives us the opportunity for genuine decompression and, if he's rested, training and desensitisation.
I'm not saying anything against daycare - the two George attends are fantastic and really help build his confidence - but it takes a lot out of an anxious dog.
So, a couple of months in, I'm tentatively hopeful that the new routine might actually end up better than the old one, despite having fretted about it for months.
There's a lesson in there somewhere.