Always Poop in the Sunshine
My dog, Skyla, has a lot of quirks, and I’m always learning from her. One of her habits, though, leaves me a bit baffled.
There are lots of trails and ponds in our neighborhood with little shady spots and secluded pathways. When Skyla has to…um, do her doggie business…she avoids all the private enclaves and heads straight to the sunniest open areas.
Once there, she’ll squat down to do her thing while raising her face to the sun proudly (I swear, sometimes she smiles while relieving herself). Unfortunately, her need to poop out in the open usually results in an audience…like the property manager and a group of potential renters.
Yeah, it’s a little embarrassing for me.
But Skyla doesn’t care. Her attitude is, “Hey, this is my shit. Deal with it.”
Can I say shit on my blog? Oh well, let’s go with it.
If you put your shit out there for everyone to see, then you can’t hide what you’re ashamed of or pretend like it didn’t happen. And that’s not a bad lesson to apply to our lives.
Isn’t that what politicians are supposed to do? They’re supposed to tell their campaign managers all their dark secrets so as to avoid a big scandal later on (or at least that’s the plan).
I really messed up my blog last year, but I wrote about it, and I know what not to do in the future. Someone might even learn from my mistakes.
Chris and I are estranged from both of our biological families. But when people ask me about my family, I own it instead of pretending that everything’s perfect. And although it’s sad for me to admit that we eloped because we couldn’t stand the thought of inviting those people to our wedding (or worse, inviting them and having them refuse to come), I feel better about being truthful.
I poop in the sunshine, and it feels good!
So, how can you be more truthful?
Well, if you forget someone’s name, come clean and admit it (they probably forgot yours too). If you have a ton of debt, tell someone so you can get help and your friends can stop pressuring you to go out for expensive dinners.
Have you ever had to come clean about a not-so-good thing in your life?
Did you feel better after revealing the truth?
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Haha! This title had me cracking up laughing! I had no idea what this post was going to be about based in the title alone, but I loved it! You are so right, so many times I do something that I enjoy but I’ll do it in secret because I’m nervous about what other people are going to say. But, it’s so much better to just live in my truth and do what I enjoy and not be afraid to share it — or as you said, always poop in the sunshine!
Being candid is a great way to deal with and defuse our weaknesses. Most people are forgiving and their reactions are always less trouble than the anxiety we carry around in our heads.
Besides, it’s hard work to conceal bad stuff. And usually futile since smart people can sense when you aren’t being honest. Great post, as usual.
I want to be able to poop in the sunshine too! I always forget people’s name but never say anything (until it gets to that awkward stage where you’ve known them too long to ask their name) and even tonight I’m going out for dinner even though I have no money 🙁 I shall make it a challenge to myself to poop in the sunshine- thanks Sage (and Skyla!)
OMG, my dog do the same thing! she always do her ‘business’ and smiling after, hahaha… Ya, so true, we can learn from anything, including our pets. I think Skyla is a cute dog :))
This is SUCH an awesome post, Sage! I read it to Mike and we both love it. It’s so great how much our animal companions can teach us.
Thanks, Molly. I’m loving having a dog, but I feel like my blog is becoming all about Skyla. She’s just more interesting than me! 🙂
Well, either way, I love your posts so keep them coming! 🙂
You need to trademark this phrase!
Haha! I’ll start printing up T-shirts right away! 🙂 And mugs! And iPhone covers!
Great post Sage! I think my biggest “come clean” situation is going to sound terrible but I don’t really want to hang out with most of my “friends” (I use quotes because I just don’t consider our relationships to be true friendships for various reasons). I tend to become friends with really competitive people and it is really exhausting and I’m not interested in competing with people I look to for support. I work so much and spend so much time focusing on my health and fitness that I don’t really want to spend my free time with people that I don’t like all that much. Don’t get me wrong, I have a core group of friends and family that I love, but I make up A LOT of excuses to get out of hanging out with some people.
I SHOULD just cut it off and stop wasting everyone’s time but I don’t want to be hurtful telling people that hanging out with them is stressful for me. They are all good people, but I think sometimes people outgrow each other…
I hope this doesn’t make me sound terrible because I feel like it does. Then again, I feel like most people have been involved in toxic friendships at some point so hopefully everyone can understand 🙂
I totally get this, Sarah. I’ve been in your shoes and ended up cutting those toxic relationships out. I’ve never regretted it!
You guys are reading my mind! I was thinking about doing a post on toxic relationships. Molly, I completely agree with you that cutting out those relationships can sometimes be the best thing for everyone involved.
Sarah, you don’t sound terrible at all. You sound brave by admitting how many of us feel about our friends. You have to put your own life first. I had a “frenemy” who always wanted to compete with me, and it was so draining. I felt so much better when I cut her off.
I can relate to not wanting to hurt people’s feelings. As women, do you think we’re pressured to be friends with everyone, even if they’re not making us happy anymore?
Such a great message. It can be very hard. I’m the daughter of an addict, and I share it freely. I am on bad terms with a lot of my family too (yes, partially because of my decision to move away and get married). I’m sure “average” people find it overshare or TMI, but it’s apart of who I am – and important for me to share in psych discussion classes. It’s why I turned out to be the person I am today; it influences what I do, and it might help somebody else learn something.
Your pup is a gorgeous girl. Sounds like you are getting a lot of joy with her in your life.
Thanks, Megan. Almost everyone I know has family problems, but I don’t know many people who have actually cut ties with family members like I have. I’m a better person for getting away from them.
Ditto that. I’m also an oversharer but it is way easier than putting up and maintaining some facade.