Fifth Month Home
This month started off with me enrolling in my spring classes at SFSU. I am so grateful that in the spring I only have one Zoom class and that it ends at 7pm. This semester has been quite ruff as my Thursday night classes do not end sometimes until 9:30pm, so having classes that end earlier will be a nice break.
In addition to enrolling in classes Eve and I went to work and school as we have been since the start of the semester. The difference with this month though, my coworkers have asked me concerning questions about Eve and her job. Some of these questions surrounded her having challenges navigating stairs and if she could help and mitigating students anxiety around finals. To the first question I responded that she was having challenges with stairs because there are 40,000+ students coming up and down the stairs, often not paying attention to where they are going, as a result the students cause a blockage for Eve and I. When answering the second question, I comly responded that being a therapy dog is not in her job description and that I will not add it to her job description, as it may jeopardize the $75,000 to $150,000 of training she received.
In the middle of this month Eve attended my 10 year high school reunion with me. She did great navigating me through all the people even though the venue was dark. I also thought it was cute that one of my classmates asked me if she was the same dog that one of our classmates was raising for Guide Dogs of America as part of her senior project. I obviously said no, but told them that she raised this puppy for a different school than where I got Eve. Since I still keep in contact with this classmate on occasion I was able to tell them that the puppy they were thinking of got matched with an older lady in the Sylmar area.
During this same week I took and thankfully passed all of my finals for this semester, while also helping administer about 1,000 finals in my office for students that we serve.
At the beginning of the next week, I attended my local National Federation of the Blind (NFB) holiday party. I had fun catching up with members of my chapter that I hadn't seen in a while, while also playing holiday games. Not only did I have fun, but Eve had fun trying to get the other guide dogs in trouble. One of these days I know they all will get a chance to play together, but that time was just not during this event.
To start the third week of this month @shelbi_nichole and I went to Disneyland to celebrate the end of our semesters. Thankfully we did not get an @uber denial on the way, and Eve and @kristentheguidingeye did great navigating us around Disneyland. They were so great that we even were able to walk down Main Street shortly before the parade was to begin in order to leave the parks for the day. We also have learned through doing this so many times now that the best way to leave the parks is to take paratransit home, as both Los Angeles and Orange County services the Disney parks as a transfer point. As a result of taking this approach we both do not risk an @uber denial and know that each other will make it home safe.
This week continued with me working remotely from Tuesday through Thursday, as my students' semester was over, but the projects that needed to be done could successfully be done from home. Being that I was given the opportunity to work from home it gave Eve the ability to rest and recover from our Disney adventures while I worked.
To end this week Eve had a vet appointment to meet our local vet. I am happy to report that she got a clean bill of health and is back at her target weight. Later this afternoon Eve attended my dad’s side of the family's holiday party. Eve had a fun time meeting new people and running around my cousin’s backyard. I think her favorite person to meet was my cousin's husband Dave as seen in the below picture.
The next morning after this holiday party I went with my dad to get his basic truck maintenance. While we were waiting on his truck service we took advantage of the Santa Margarita trail that was behind the car dealership. This was a nice way to stretch our legs after the 45 minute drive down to Santa Margarita. Once my dad’s truck maintenance was done we headed home to prepare for the other holiday festivities that would take place in the next few days.
Santa Margarita River Trail
To start the last week of our fifth month home, it was Christmas day. Eve and I attended a small get together with my brother and his wife.
To end this month Eve and I attended a holiday party for my high school’s alumni Best Buddies chapter. Everyone enjoyed meeting her, especially because many who attended realized not only what it means to me to have her, but how hard I worked to get her. Many who attended this event watched the heartbreak I had when I got denied at 16, but now see the doors that have opened and the sense of independence I now have.
Lindsay and Eve standing with Mrs. Weinberg a retired teacher.
