One of the things that I struggle with is empathy. It's part of my work, to empathize, yet I need to keep my boundaries, or I lose myself! Last night, I got surprised.. so surprised that I didn't even know what was going on. I have a dear friend who lives in Tulsa, OK. She started out as a client and became someone I care deeply for. And, I've talked with all of her furry kids... occassionally they pop in and say "Hey! can you tell mom..." So last night, around 8:30, I got the WORST pain in my chest. My heart started pounding, my pulse was racing, I felt dizzy... and scared... so scared, that I went and took an asprin.. just in case the o' ticker had been abused by one too many cheeseburgers. I chased that with Aconite (it's a homeopathic) and laid down. Now, I hadn't eaten all day. I had an exceedingly stressfully day and didn't take care of myself.. so I chalked it up to that. 15 minutes later, I was fine. Around 11:00PM, I logged onto a message board where I "visit" with my dear friend, among others, to find that my dear friend's sweet brindle boy passed away. Around 7:30, (8:30 my time)the other dogs in the house figured out that he wasn't coming home in his body. I spent all day today working to re-establish my boundaries, while remaining open to my dear friend. Empathy may suck, but if it weren't for my work, I never would have met this beautiful beast. Goodbye Sweet King.. you will be missed.