No Sweat Vet is Born!

Hi Friends!!

Many of you have been asking where we have been! We (Sophie and Karen) are both alive and kickin’, and VERY sorry to have been so absent. Did your heart grow fonder? Ours did for you!

But, just like the Whos in Whoville,

We are here!

We are here!

We are here!

First, let’s talk about Sophie. How is she?

GOOD!

Sophie is now ten years old (she was a rescue so actual birthdate uncertain). In our family she is sandwiched between Junie (3 years) and Ellie (15 years), which makes her not only a middle child in age, but also a “Sea of Calm” smack in the middle of crazy energetic youth and crazed cognitively-challenged geriatric.

“Sophie, what would I do without you,” is commonly heard as Junie rips out stuffing from dog beds and Ellie paces and pants in unsteady circles about the room.

Now, how is Karen?

Well, Karen is in transition, and anyone who knows her will know that Karen does not chug along smoothly onto the Road of Change. Oh, she might LOOK like she is doing fine but look closer and you will see she is muttering to herself and offering to mow all the neighbors’ lawns.

So what has happened?

Karen is (once again) retiring after forty - yes, FORTY! - years of being a veterinarian. Recently a new doctor was hired at the clinic, and the few steady shifts a week that Karen was working have been absorbed into the new doctor’s schedule.  

Good-bye yellow pee road…

Now, tbh, this happened last summer as well. A new doctor was hired, Karen’s sent out an adios  email to her most loyal clients, and the staff had a retirement party.

Thar she GOES!

Wait. Just kidding.

Only a few months later, a different doctor went on to a new adventure, they asked Karen to come back, and Karen enthusiastically agreed. Why? Because she loves the staff at Companion, she loves interacting with her clients, and – let’s be honest – she has three dogs that need vet stuff done from time to time.

But now, a year later – deja vu! – and Karen is once again going from part-time to relief only, so there will be just a few times a month where Karen can don her lab coat and do the vet thing.

Well…just kidding (again).  

Last summer, when she thought she had been retired (like an old racehorse stumbling off the track), Karen was nervous. If she was not a veterinarian, what was she?

To anyone out there who has retired, can you relate at all?!

So, having a great love for educating and working with clients, it was hard to watch that huge part of her life just ride off into the sunset. Thus Karen decided to learn about Instagram - with a great deal of effort and angst, I might add (remember, Karen is an OLD BOOMER!). But eventually a new Instagram account was born.

“No Sweat Vet”.

The goal was to give down-to-earth, straightforward veterinary advice to pet owners. And to do it in a “Minnesota Nice” way, not judgy or preachy. To help pet owners who might not feel comfortable bringing their pet into the vet, perhaps due to lack of time or finances.

The problem?

Well, I (Karen) had never really posted on Instagram.

I was a total ROOKIE when it came to social media.

Fortunately, I have a lovely daughter-in-law, Michelle, who was willing to do some coaching, but there were a lot of You Tube videos being watched last summer! And the learning curve was long and steep. But at last, the posting of Instagram reels began!

Now here’s the other deal.

It’s awkward to try something new. Something you are not competent at. Something where you are putting yourself out there and saying, “Look at me!” when you feel like a total dork.

And it is also hard to do this awkward thing and not think about the folks that are watching who aren’t necessarily rooting for you to do well. Not a lot, mind you, but they are out there. Those people who are judging you and critiquing your style and your words and your appearance, and not in a loving, “you got this” way.

But here’s the thing. If I only thought about those people, I would never have started No Sweat Vet.

Mel Robbins has this great book out called “Let Them.” And basically, I just kept repeating that to myself. Let them judge me. Let them laugh at my dorkiness. Let them not want me to succeed. I can’t let those few people live in my head and not allow me to try this new thing.

So THAT, my friends, is what has been happening with Sophie and Karen.

Sophie is going to continue loving on her family, be surfer-dude chill, and watch for opportunities to steal food.

Karen is going to do her best to ADAPT TO CHANGE (Egads!) and continue to post on Instagram and figure out what the Man upstairs would like her to do in retirement. AND she and Sophie have discussed it, and they will also be more purposeful about blogging!

So, if you are on Instagram, check out @NoSweatVet and PLEASE follow because the algorithm is more helpful (especially to Boomer rookies) if you have a certain number of followers. Tell your friends and all the pet owners in your life.

AND, final thing. If you are thinking about trying something new, JUST DO IT! Don’t let the judge-y folks live in your head. Be BRAVE! Just do the one thing that gets you going. Put yourself out there. Be a “Karen” (lol!)

You’ve got this. No sweat!!