Skunked

I got skunked last night.  Literally.

A good meal, a couple of glasses of wine, a cozy fire….predictably, I fell asleep on the couch.  It had been a long week, and I was tired.  And so when I woke up a little after midnight, I decided that if I wanted any chance of sleeping in a bit in the morning, I had best take the dogs out to pee, one more time.

I went out the breezeway door, not bothering to turn the light on.  I was on auto-pilot and besides, there was nice moonlight.  The dogs did their duty very quickly and in just a couple of minutes we turned around.

But once we got near the breezeway, my dog-lets cowered behind me.  Scaredy cats, what’s bothering you? Ah, there it was.  In the dim light, I saw a whitish object, it looked like either a plastic grocery bag or piece of newspaper trapped in the corner right by the door step.  Silly dogs.

Without taking a closer look, I swooped down to scoop the trash away…..and touched… fur!!!!

Holy crap.  We all ran back out on the lawn.  Too late – my coat had gotten sprayed.  Once inside, I wiped it off (fortunately it’s a parka, the outside wasn’t fabric) and sprayed it with Fabreeze and called it a night.  My dogs, who wisely had stayed behind me, didn’t get any of the direct spray; they carried a faint odor but nothing terribly noxious.

So we went to bed.  And when we came downstairs in the morning, the hallway where my coat hung…. Stunk.  The coat stank, and so didn’t the jeans and sweater I had had on.  After two cycles through the washing machine and now the dryer with a ton of fabric sheets in, the odor is lessened but still pungent.  Hubby is making me hang my coat out on the porch…

So as I was doing chores today, I thought to myself, I could be so totally pissed.  I mean, the coat was brand new, a thoughtful Christmas present from my family, to keep me toasty warm on winter walks with the dogs. It’s not ruined, but it’s going to be some time before the odor’s gone….

But maybe Skunk came to teach me something.  Maybe there’s something I can take away from this encounter, beyond my husband’s admonition to turn the breezeway light on before I go out…

I’ve read about, but haven’t done too much work with animal totems; I couldn’t tell you which animal is my own totem.  Maybe I have more than one; that’s an exploration I have yet to undertake.  But as far as the meaning of the skunk, I read today that “when skunk comes, opportunities will open to bring self-esteem and respect”.  And also,  “The skunk is a very powerful totem with mystical and magical associations.  It teaches how to give respect, expect respect and demand respect.  This totem helps you recognize your own qualities and assert them.”

That’s interesting, because tomorrow I am interviewing at work for a higher level (and hopefully higher paid) position.  I had put my application and resume in two months ago, at which time I was pretty much told that I didn’t have all the qualifications they were looking for.   And now they have scheduled me to interview…..

“Skunks are fearless but peaceful.  These are two wonderful qualities which you can learn from your skunk totem.”  And also, “The skunk’s stripe is the outward sign of kundalini or life force.  When you receive a skunk totem, your kundalini or life force activates or amplifies.  You must learn to use this force effectively.”  And to think I swooped down and touched the stripe unknowingly….

But skunk has some admonitions for me as well.  The skunk is peaceful, but his odor repels people.  I must be assertive, but not in a way that will turn people off….  But perhaps skunk can help me tomorrow:  “Call upon the spirit of the skunk when you need quality judgment in a situation - particularly if you're in a stressful state, or someone is pushing your buttons. The skunk will ease you out of the situation with deft and diplomacy.”

As I type, the pups are under the table, playing with one of their “skin-eeze” toys.  The black and white one.  The one that’s the skunk.   Sometimes I have a thick head, but I’m getting this message loud and clear.  That toy is traveling to work tomorrow, tucked away into my work bag.  Even if I won’t be able to wear my new coat….

Giving credit to my resources:

http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/skunk.htm

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-skunk.html