Apparently today is National Dog Day. Well we have dog. His name is Trooper (because of course it is.) When we went to the shelter, we told the kids “we will take a long time to find the right dog for us so don’t get your hopes up.” But Trooper, he had just come up for adoption that day, after being found months before rooting through dumpsters downtown. And he just sat there, while the rest barked around him, and watched us. He looks like a Border Collie. Maybe a bit like a Burmese…. Eh, he’s a dog. I only hoped Dh would be kind. He’s not a pet person, and neither am I, really. I worried how it would go over. About 6 months in, he said “you know how some veterans get dogs to help them reintegrate from war?’ And I said “yes…” Not wanting to go all social work-y and ruin the uncharacteristic moment of sharing. He said “I can see that.” And then we said nothing else, and he took Trooper to the park to throw the ball until he was too tired to make it home. And 5 years later, they’re still a team. Trooper herds my kids. He follows Freckles, and sleeps in his bed. And he loves Dh. He has gotten under his skin, and he is sometimes exactly what is needed when I even I didn’t know what to do. We rescued a dog. Sometimes, though, dogs save us…

Since I spend a huge amount of my time speaking, listening and interacting with the Canadian military family community (more than any sane person not employed to do so really should), I hear their voices. I hear anger and complaints, hurts and frustrations. Sometimes they’re worded well. Sometimes they come out like a snarl. Sometimes you have to read between the lines to see what’s really wrong. There are so many great ideas. So many smart people with amazing stories and struggles and insight into improvement. Sadly, most of them won’t be heard. Friends in the military community…. we need to use our voice. And not just in the “bitching about everything” way because, while that’s cathartic and every likes to scream at a brick wall now and again, it’s not really getting us anywhere. We need to use our voice to make for change. We often seem to underestimate the power of our words. I mean, She Is Fierce was just me, writing crap on the internet. Suddenly, it was noticed and I’m all of a sudden painting my nails in the uber to speak in front of the Governor General….    We all have unique stories that everyone can learn from. That’s the beauty of storytelling. But our voices get hidden a lot, and sometimes it’s because of how we use them (myself included).   1. Sometimes we let our anger overpower our reason. We all know that when we are approached with a douchy tone, even if they have a point we tune the person out, or get angry back. This happens when we do the same. Sometimes we have legitimate complaints, but we are too busy yelling curse…