And so I start again.
On the sixth day of my 21 day complaint-free quest I complained. I started the day in a negative frame of mind and it just took over until the complaining started.
Tomorrow I reset to Day 1.
Briefly, what happened was this:
- I had to stay home for a dryer ventilation inspection. It’s one of those things that only takes a minute but you never know when they’re going to arrive. I did laundry and ran a load of dishes, but was mildly annoyed at having to stay put.
- Part of this annoyance was due to my watch not connecting to the phone. It apparently stopped doing so shortly after noon yesterday for reasons unknown. I spent a lot of time fruitlessly troubleshooting this.
- After the ventilation guy left (testing vents involves a rubber hose and jet-loud suction) I decided to go out and maybe get a new phone as a way to brute-force a solution (I had concluded the watch was fine and the phone, now 3+ years old, was acting hinky)
- I walked to Lougheed on my usual route and a couple with a pair of dogs entered the Brunette River trail just ahead of me. The dogs were off-leash and running around in a hyperactive “what was in their kibble?” kind of way. This was a huge red flag to me. I growled to myself and the guy corralled his dogs and hustled them off the trail to the river. I’m not sure if this was his plan or if he didn’t like the look on my face, but it did little to appease me.
- Further up the trail a woman with another dog off-leash. The dog approaches me, getting up close and personal. The owner calls the dog back. I turn to her and say, “They’ll fine you for having your dog off-leash.” Technically it’s a statement, so I’m still good, but my mood is not. My doom is approaching.
- I cross a foot bridge near Lougheed and on the other side is another woman with a yellow lab. Normally a cute dog, but this one, off-leash, ran up and proceeded to poke me with its snout. I growled again, loudly and in a somewhat sustained manner. I said in a curt tone, “Leash your dog.” The woman and dog crossed the bridge, the dog remaining off-leash. I called back again, “Leash your dog!” It occurred to me later that she may not have even had a leash. At the far end of the bridge I could see the woman beckoning to her dog. The dog was off exploring nearby bushes. The dog was doing what it wanted to do. It was a happy dog. I ended my interaction by shouting, “I hope your dog bites someone!”
Now, telling someone to leash their dog is not of itself a complaint. It’s a request. But as the author of A Complaint Free World notes, it’s often how you say something and the way I, er, barked out my words, it was clear I was complaining, not just offering some kindly advice. And so my blue rubber band made its first journey to my left wrist.
I’ll put it back on the right wrist tomorrow and try to do better. I wonder how the whole sequence of events would have ended if I’d had a 10 or 15-day streak going instead.
I’m disappointed, but at the same time a little relieved. I’ve gotten my warning and with a lot of potential complaint points coming up, I will have to be even more vigilant in what I say and how I feel.
Also, I got the new phone and my watch is happy again, so yay.