Tuesday, October 30, 2012

You're a daisy if you do...

A mural of our little town
It's bill printing time at the clinic again, and that means collections calls.  Grrrrrr!!  This is beyond a shadow of a doubt, my least favorite aspect of my job.  I absolutely detest having to make repeated calls to clients who are frequently falling behind in their accounts.  That is, if they bother to pay their bills at all!  What is it with people who gladly accept your help, in this case, veterinarian services, and then never pay their bills?  I will never understand how some people can merrily skip through life treating their bills like they're someone else's responsibility.  It's like trying to get blood out of a turnip.  Seriously, it is that difficult at times!

So, in keeping my sanity, and my positive outlook on people, humanity in general...I'm taking a little break.  A little blogging break.  Jen over at "Muddy Boot Dreams" posted a question (three questions actually) about the importance of blogging in ones' life, and just why people blog in the first place.  That got me to thinking...a dangerous thing, I know.  :)  Very interesting to read everyone's responses, and how a similar thread kept recycling over and over.  I'm not all that different from most bloggers.  So, here goes:


I blog because I originally and probably most importantly, wanted to keep a journal of my life.  I want to keep an account of all the things that can happen in my life on a daily basis.  The milestones yes, but even more importantly, the little things, those special little things that cause me to pause for a moment, to smile and be thankful.  Those little moments in time, that if not recorded, may very well end up being forgotten over time.  I want to remember, and this gives me a place to look back over the days, the months, and even the years and reflect.  Smile once again.  And yes, sometimes cry again.

Secondly, I want to connect with other people.  People out there in our world that live far away, and most likely, I never would have known at all, had it not been for blogging.  There are so many different people out there!  People with passion, people with families, lives so different from my own, and then again, a lot of them who live quite similar lives to my own.  I want to reach out and touch someone!  I love reading about so many things that these ingenious and creative people can come up with.  Amazing, really!  I want to know that I'm not so very different from others; and that no matter how bad my day may seem, or how lonely and disengaged that I can feel on some days; I'm never really alone.  I can reach out to someone and receive a friendly "cyber hug", a reassuring kind word, some encouragement.  I can share smiles and I can share tears, accomplishments and disappointments.  For everything that happens to each and everyone of us in this life...we share so much.  And in that way, we are friends.  And who doesn't want more friends?


And thirdly, how important is blogging to me?  At first thought, my answer was, not really important.  After all, I don't write here everyday.  Sometimes I can go for weeks, and yes I've even skipped a month or more before...but I always return.  It's cleansing to write.  I usually have no idea what I want or need to write about, but find that once I begin, the thoughts just keep coming...and I can get overzealous and write more than I ever thought I could.  I've always been an avid reader, and I get a great deal of pleasure out of reading other people's thoughts, their choices of words, their opinions.  I learn when I visit other people's blogs.  I get ideas that I never would have come up with on my own.  I guess it boils down to perspective.  Blogging and visiting other people's worlds gives me valuable insight and a different and sometimes refreshing perspective that may, or may not be very different from my own.  It's like a lesson in humanity.  Sometimes I gain courage to try something new, validation for my views, permission to be different from anyone else, and know that that's alright.  Overall, blogging gives me the feeling of being a part of a very large "whole".  And that, my friends is a good feeling.  So in retrospect, I guess it's fairly important to me after all.

One of the many wineries in our little town
We're all in this thing we call life together.  And nobody's getting out of it alive.  So make the best of what is.  Throw caution to the wind! Enjoy your life...expand your horizons and be thankful that God decided to wake you up this morning.  You've got another chance to make a difference.

Think about why you blog...You're a daisy if you do!!!!
(name that movie)  :)

Blessings all,  C-ingspots
Keeping all of our East Coast friends in my prayers...

Here's that load of wood we got last Sunday - firewood is a beautiful thing!!
And that pile of gravel there, is all nicely spread over our parking area and our pathway to and from the barn and our house.  So, hopefully that will mean less mud in our house this winter!!  A girl can only hope...

Until next time...
Lorie

10 comments:

IanH said...

Fire wood is great, especially when it's cut and split and sheltered. For a moment, I thought you were leaving the blogging world. Then, I read on. My reasons for blogging are very similar to yours.

RURAL said...

I love the answers everyone is giving to those "middle of the night, why can't I sleep" questions. Maybe if I had waited until morning, I would have had more in depth answers, but my feet were cold...lol.

Love your answers, blogging is such a wonderful place to be in our lives.

PS here in Canada, we pay up front at the end of any vet visit, there is no collecting at the end of the month...wonder if that would work for you?

Jen

C-ingspots said...

Jen, that's typical of small animal vets here too. We're strictly horses and farm animals...we do require payment at time of service for some/most new or unknown clients, but because my boss is kind-hearted, too trusting or just doesn't like to do his billing immediately...we bill most clients monthly. And we pay for it with a lot of lost revenue. It really hurts our business, but it's not up to me to change policy. I would like to see payment for routine services at time of service, and some billing for emergencies depending on the client. We can't say no to an animal in distress. It's a tough business for the gracious and kindhearted, I'm afraid.

aurora said...

Good post! I blog for all the same reason's. Wood heat is the best, I miss it. We used to live in an old farmhouse & heat with a big Blaze King wood burning stove. Now we (rarely) push a button to light up a fireplace for ambiance, it's not remotely the same. Collection calls sound uncomfortable, especially with clients you may encounter again. We sure could use more gracious and kindhearted in this world.

Carolynn Anctil said...

I echo your sentiments about blogging, too.

Carolynn Anctil said...

I echo your sentiments about blogging, too.

Strawberry Lane said...

Loved your post about blogging. It describes my feelings,as well. I love being able to step into the world of a cyber friend with just a click ... and read about their life and animals, seeing their photos. Interesting how you all become important in a unique way.

Hope to hear from and about you soon.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

I blog for much the same reason as you , to journal, then the friendships happened and I learned about so many wonderful folks and I kept on,I am not as diligent as I once was but I try to stop by and say hello to others even when I don't post. As for billing, it sucks, vets ,esp large animal vets come out in all types of weather and do their very best for you in a timely and often heroic manner the very least a client can do is pay in a courteous and timely manner as well

Cindy D said...

I can't imagine not keeping the vet bill paid. What if your horse or dog gets sick again? Maybe it is different in other parts of the world, but in Casper WY, we don't have many vets to choose from, and even less really good ones. I will pay my vet bill before I will even buy groceries.

I originally started following blogs looking for information on Stringhalt. Through it I have found some amazing blogs. My favorite part of every morning is when I get to sit wiht my coffee and read what is going on with everyone.

I started my own blog, for similar reasons as yours. To document, to share, and to help me make sense of my own thoughts.

C-ingspots said...

Welcome Cindy D and thank you so much for your comment!! I'll mosey over and pay a visit soon. We do have quite a few vets within a 100 mile radius here, that's part of the problem I guess. I'm like you though, my animals are important enough to want to maintain a good relationship with my vet...plus, it's a small world. News gets around.