We’ve all heard of the butterfly effect, familiar with the way a single action can ripple through our lives and well beyond. I’ve treated this rather coldly and academically, like something that happens in theory to other people, not me. That comes from big actions, like election results or seismic shifts. But recent experience has me thinking again.
Here’s a long story short of this phenomenon:
- Afghanistan falls under Taliban control.
- There’s an influx of Afghan refugees to the UK.
- This leads to a groundswell of support from the British public, mostly in the form of clothing and goods donations.
- A charity I work with is inundated with donations and needs volunteers to help sort through them.
- I head to the tube station to pull a shift sorting donations on a random Friday afternoon.
- On my way, I spot what seems like a stray dog, and fall in love with her. I am ready to adopt her or at least foster her until I can find her owners, right before finding her owners’ neighbour. I hand her over.
- I can’t stop thinking about this dog, until I convince my family to adopt a dog.
- Lucy now sleeps in her bed next to me while I write this, happy in a family home after years of racing. She’s sensitive, nervous around other dogs, and very sweet with people. She loves being outside, even just sitting there listening to the birds.
My husband and I sometimes joke about our ‘fall of Afghanistan’ dog, because were it not for that, I wouldn’t have been walking to the tube at that time of day, would not have met that dog, would not have had the desire to add a dog to our family rekindled.
The thing is, it doesn’t take much.
Continue reading “Ripples”
Happy Parent UK 