I was never meant to be on that train. After a tearful night outside my ex\u2019s apartment,<\/p>\n
clinging to a relationship I should\u2019ve let go, I hit a breaking point. On impulse, I bought<\/p>\n
the first ticket out of town\u2014destination unknown\u2014just to breathe again. That\u2019s when I saw the dog.<\/p>\n
A golden retriever, calm and dignified, locked eyes with me. Something about him felt grounding.<\/p>\n
When he walked over and rested his head on my leg, his person was surprised\u2014\u201cHe doesn\u2019t usually do that.\u201d But Buddy stayed,<\/p>\n
like he knew I was unraveling. I found myself quietly telling him everything\u2014the heartbreak, the shame,<\/p>\n
the way I\u2019d lost myself. And he just listened. Then, the man\u2014Sam\u2014invited me to a cabin by Lake Crescent for the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo pressure,\u201d he said. \u201cBuddy seems to think you\u2019re okay.\u201d Maybe it was exhaustion or maybe the dog\u2019s silent kindness,<\/p>\n
but I said yes. The cabin was peaceful,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was never meant to be on that train. After a tearful night outside my ex\u2019s apartment, clinging to a relationship I should\u2019ve let go, I hit… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\n