Speak Up....

So this weekend was amazing. And eventful. And we got a lot done. As I mentioned in the last blog, Clare had been mad at somebody but not saying anything about it and then she knew she had to but had a bit of fear about it all. It seems to me that one of the biggest obstacles that stands in the way of people resolving things is fear, and that fear is of not being liked. You convince yourselves that if you tell somebody your truth, how you're feeling, what you want, that they might not like you anymore, or as much or at all, so you squash it all down and make yourself unhappy in the process. You convince youself that what somebody else thinks is more important than how you feel. And that's crazy. If they are irritated by you or annoyed at you, do you know who's problem that is? Not Yours. It's theirs.
And it's not your job to fix them or make them feel better. Well what a revelation that turned out to be. Trying to make everybody happy, not rock the boat, keep the peace and tow the line is just about the most pointless and exhausting process there is.
The key to every succesful relationship is communication, and if you can't make that work then I am not sure the relationship will work so find your voice, speak up - Feel The Fear And Say It Anyway. You'll be amazed how well it works.
So Saturday was Bentley's birthday. He was two. And Clare decided we should have a party on dog beach at Huntington Beach to celebrate with all his doggie friends. Well they're my friends too, but we share. So at 9am we gathered at the house with Sean Maguire and Archie Dog, Emma and three of her pooches including Brownie and China, and then set off with Alex to meet Bryan and Henry Ridgeback, Tasa with Sam Dane, and Brian plus Otto Dane. All in all there were five Great Danes on the beach, with 10 other dogs running in and out of the ocean while all their human friends hung out and talked and laughed on the sand. It was so much fun.
It was perfect weather and I think everybody enjoyed themselves. Bentley had two girlfriends there and didn't know which he likes more, so spent his time trying to keep both of them happy, which never works out exactly right as one always gets left out a little, but he did his best and then we got in the cars and went to Chateau Marmont for lunch which they gave us for free which was really amazing. They say there is no such thing as a free lunch in LA but apparently we had the only one and loved it even more for that.
In the evening, Bentley's favourite guy Ryan Seacrest came over to give him a birthday hug and they honestly had the best and funniest time messing about. Bentley LOVES Ryan, especially since he put Bentley's photo on his Facebook and Twitter photo so now the whole world sees Bentley which I think he loves.....so finally it was time to climb into bed. Tired, no, exhausted, but so so so happy. It was the best birthday ever and I was happy to be a part of it my friend......“Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow...”