Hoppoo

My dog Hoppoo is really afraid of thunder, and we live in an area where there are several thunderstorms a week, all year round. The first time he experienced a thunderstorm, Hoppoo started shaking and wouldn't stop, no matter how tightly I held him and hugged him. A nine-pound Terrier Chihuahua, he's tiny and very delicate. Eventually, I found out that walking around while holding him seemed more effective than just sitting down. My other dogs aren't afraid at all. Sure, that first clap of thunder may startle them, as it does me, but it doesn't scare them. Sometimes, they get uncomfortable and pull a blanket over their head or crawl under a pillow, but it's just to muffle the sound; sometimes, they sleep through it. Hoppoo, on the other hand, starts to show signs of fear as soon as he hears that first rumbling sound. His tail, always up like a perfect question mark, goes down, and he starts to walk around to find a corner where he can hide. We live in a cabin in the woods, a tiny home of 196 square feet, 225 if you count the porch, so there's really no room for him to walk around or hide. Hoppoo ends up in my lap, begging me with his eyes to hold him, get up, and walk. Since there's no room to walk, I put some dance music on, as loud as possible, to cover the sound of thunder, and dance with him singing along really loudly. That works a little better, and, usually, by the third song, he calms down a bit. I sometimes turn on the air conditioner and the fan if we have power; I do anything I can do to stop the loud thunder sound from reaching his ears. After about forty-five minutes of dancing, I feel exhausted, and start to slow down, but, sadly, the thunderstorm doesn't go away just because I get tired. The only thing that keeps me going is the fear I see in Hoppoo's eyes when he feels I might sit down, so I keep dancing, thanking the universe that the other two dogs, much more Terrier than Chihuahua and therefore much heavier than Hoppoo, aren't afraid of thunder. Finally, when the storm is over and we sit down, Hoppoo starts licking my hands and giving me kisses to show his appreciation. His tail goes up again and forms a question mark. He's happy again, maybe because the thunder has stopped or maybe because I've stopped singing.

Book Review

When I Was Lost: A Mother's Struggle with Bipolar Disorder, by Glenna Gill, is the story of a woman whose life falls apart when her husband announces he's leaving her. What makes this memoir so powerful is the author's honesty in describing everything she goes through: her feelings during her depression, her ignoring every red flag when she knows better, the way she justifies her every decision, how she sees herself, her awareness of her own dishonesty with herself and with others, the realization that she is burning every bridge as she gets in deeper, and recognizing where she is headed if she doesn't change her ways. The author takes the reader through it all and shows the impact of her choices on others, her relationship with her loved ones, and the kind of strength and determination it takes to get out of a hole that deep. Every character in this true story teaches the reader something about life.
This book should be required reading for all high school students. I recommend it to everyone, teenagers and adults, both male and female, because it shows how easy it is to lose your way and how hard it is to find it again.