Random Thoughts VI

It's been a while.....

Sometimes, but not every time, Missy will bring her treat over to the rug and roll all over it before she eats it.  I tried that with my Oatmeal cookie. Honestly, I don't know what the appeal is. 

I used to have 30 coffee mugs in my house but I realized that I only really used one.  My criteria for choosing a coffee mug used to be that I had to like the design or the saying on the outside.  Now, in the wisdom of age, I know that the thickness of the mug is key. The mug has got to be thick to keep the coffee warm.  Which brings me to.....

I do not like cold coffee. I have never had a iced coffee but I don't need to try it to know I won't like it.  Now, I know there are 74 trillion people that LOVE cold or iced coffee and I say "Rock on", not this gal.  I will drink my coffee as it cools and I will finish up the coffee cold, but I can not just dive right into cold coffee. Not happening. 

Why don't we call all meat what it is when it is used for consumption?  We don't say "Want a Cow" or "Some Pig"?  We do it for chicken and most fish, but you rarely see anything labeled as "Cow" or "Pig".  Weird. 

"I won't betray people for money" was the answer Jamie Lee Curtis gave when she was asked why she won't write a tell-all.  Love this!  Way up high "high five" Jamie Lee!

When I am taking the stairs next to someone who is on the escalator, and I beat them to the top.... I'm not generally a competitive person, but I will say that I have been known to give myself some mental "high-fives". 

And, while we are on this subject. I'm a very nice person and I am a very kind hearted person. But, I gotta tell you, when I am in traffic and I choose the lane that is fastest and we are going by the other lane standing still, I don't actually say it, but I do sometimes think "Suck it!"  Right then and there, I am the Queen of Picking Lanes.

The waitress/waiter who refills your water glass or coffee cup without you having to ask her to... that is someone who is GREAT at their job and paying attention. 

Do not ever EVER Google any skin issues you may be having.  And please do not ever use "Images".  There is never your skin issue pictured but you will be exposed to things you can't easily forget. 1  

Have you noticed that the word "cough" sounds like a cough?  And the word "sneeze" sounds like a sneeze 2.  They could have very easily been named "Klinker" or "Lorky" but they are named for what they sound like.  I'm sorry, I find this cool! 

I love when survey's ask me to name my age in years.  Because I was totally going to answer "30,505,054 minutes" 

Anticipation!  I could live on the anticipation building up to a Key West vacation for longer than the 10 days we spend there. 

I never knew what "Piddling" was until I moved to the South.  Come to find out, I'm pretty good at it. 

You want to get vaccinated? Great! You don't want to get vaccinated? Fabulous!  You want to wear a mask?  Go you!  You don't want to wear a mask?  Rock on.  If it's a rule or law, I'll abide by it, but if the action is my choice, it is my choice, not yours.  Just like it is your choice and not mine.  My business is not your business and your business is not my business. 

"We all need hope, but sometimes we need help finding it.  Be the person who helps others find their hope - live beautifully."  I don't know where I read this or who wrote it, but LOVE it.

Call me a rebel, but I am not going to go through your little maze of cones and ropes if there is no one waiting in line. I'm by-passing all that there and going right to the cashier. 3

I apologized to Missy for inheriting my back issues and my sensitivity to medication and she told me that she wished she was adopted.  

We used to be able to turn the volume up just-a-smidge.  Now, now you have to go in increments.  I'm sorry but sometimes I need the 12.5.

So, can I just say this?  Now that there are no masks, I am back to worrying about bad breath and boogers. 4

In the morning we have the news on and I can hear the weather 6 times and still have to ask Bill "Is it going to rain today?"  When did weather get so complicated?  We have radar maps, satellite maps, graphs and Doppler this and that. It's all just more information than I need to know.  Pretty much my concern is "Sun or rain?". Simple. 

Doesn't matter who you are, when you start out the sentence with "I had the weirdest dream last night...", unless it is really WACKY, most times I'm tuning you out. 5

When I was getting my tour of the gym yesterday, I met a 96 year old man named, I believe, Willie.  Mara told me that he is there almost every day. I just know that we are going to be best friends. 

Bill will use two Q-tips and I refill the glass with 8.  I can't help it... I'm a 'filler". 

I sometimes kibitz about my age, but really I am younger than I thought I would be at this age. 

Bill is a 'whistler' and will whistle at random times while he is working. It is adorable. I don't know many people who still whistle. 

"Some people are never happy. And that's not your problem. It's theirs".

1. You are welcome

2. You tried it didn't you? 😄

3. Yup, I'm trouble

4. Mine and someone else's

5. Sorry 

And finally, Missy has a "Thank you" for those that rub her belly!

"Belly Rubs and Life"

We spent almost 3 and a half hours at the Emergency Vet with Missy yesterday.  She woke up very lethargic and would sometimes cry out with little yelps for no apparent reason.  As the day went on, her cries became more frequent and I knew that she was in some sort of pain and I was a wreck. 

It's Sunday and I knew that my Vet would be able to get me in quickly, but I had to wait until they opened on Monday morning.  I waited until a little after noon and called the three Emergency Vets in our area.  All three told me that "They were already at capacity" which meant that they were not accepting any more cases. 

Two hours later, Missy is worse and I called the Emergency Vet closest to us again.  They said that they can take Missy but it would be at least a two or three hour wait.  I think this was said to be a deterrent, but it didn't deter me.  Bill and I got Missy into the car and we were off.  At this point, Missy was very anxious and crying out sharply.  And I'm crying.  I knew it was irrational at this point, but I was imagining that we were not going to be coming home with her.  Bill is an incredibly strong man and he does a good job at soothing me, but I couldn't seem to stop my thoughts from going to the worst case scenario. 

When we got to the office, and after I checked in, the Triage Nurse came out to get Missy.  They were going to run tests and then get her calm and settled down.  This began our wait.  We had to wait in the parking lot, and we did, along with about a dozen other people at this Emergency Vet on a Sunday afternoon.  

A large part of why I was so upset was because I just felt so helpless.  I just knew that there was something wrong with her and not being able to help her tore me up.  In the car I began to pray "Your will be done".  Over and over "Your will be done".

I prayed for wisdom and compassion on all those kind people working inside that building. I prayed for peace for Missy, I didn't want her in pain and I didn't want her to be scared.  I prayed for strength for the other people who had pets inside this Emergency Vet building.  As I prayed, I felt myself calming down. I knew that there was nothing more that Bill and I can do physically and that she is now in the hands of people who can take care of her.  

"Your will be done" is what I repeat to myself often. It reminds me that while I have no say or sway in any outcome, it reassures me that I can handle every thing that I am faced with.  It most likely won't be easy and it will never, ever be my time frame or will, but I can handle it.  While I was created to be a deeply feeling and nurturing person, I was also created to be a strong and resilient one.  

I thought about when we had to put our first dog Ginger down - we had been in SC only four months at that point.  It was almost the same scenario, Ginger woke up lethargic and whelping out in pain.  She ended up having advanced cancer and there was nothing the Vets could do. We were with her when she was put down and that was one of the hardest and most heart wrenching experiences I have ever been through.  I told Bill that I couldn't do it again.  I could never own another pet because this, the good-bye's, are so incredibly painful. 

But Bill knew.  He knew me better than I knew me.  I didn't know this, but he had been looking at the shelter websites in our area.  One morning, about 8 months later, he saw Missy on the Greenville Humane Society page.  I was there when they opened their doors that morning and Missy joined our family.  

As the name of my blog states: Missy makes me laugh.  Every single day.  Repeatedly.  This little dog has so much personality and is so fiercely independent and unique.  And I think this is why, this is why I, we, opened our home and heart to another dog.  This is why while the pain of good-byes can be gut wrenching, it is the moments, the day-to-day joy in the moments, that do make it so worth it. I can't, and I shouldn't, spend my life trying to avoid the pain at the risk of missing the joy. 

After three hours, the vet tech called us and told us that they found that Missy had injured her back again.  She was having muscle spasms which was causing the yelping and causing her the anxiety. We had gone through this about four years ago with her.  She was on Prednisone and that was a rough 6 weeks with her.  But she recovered and has had no other problems since then.  They had given her a shot to relax her immediately and gave us two different medications to relax her and keep her relaxed once we got her home.  I had Bill take the call from the Tech because I was just so sure that it was going to be news that I could not handle. When he hung up and told me, I just started crying again - happy, grateful and thankful tears.  

We got Missy, Bill put her in my lap and we drove home.  I rubbed her ears, and gently pet her back.  My little trooper.  My little crazy and funny dog seemed to inherit her back issues from her Mom and I apologized to her for that.  

I know that there will come a day when we will have to say good bye to Missy.  This little dog who so loves her multiple walks per day, primarily because, I believe, she knows that she will see someone who will rub her belly, will no longer be living a good quality of life.  There will come a time when it would be cruel and selfish to have her suffer and not be able to meet her quota of belly rubs per day, those things that bring her such joy.  

I will have to say goodbye to people I love, there is no getting away from or denying that.  I can live my life in dread of this or I can put my faith in the Lord who has given me the strength to know that there is nothing that I can not handle.  I can not live my life avoiding joy because I want to avoid pain. 

Missy is home sleeping very soundly and we won't be going out on any walks for a while until she completely heals.  But every so often, I go in to check on her and give her a belly rub.  I know she has a quota to keep. 

"Thankful"

In the 1980 movie "The Blue's Brothers", Jake takes Elwood to his apartment.  As they stand outside the apartment, the pictures on the walls start rattling and you see, and hear, a train passing by outside the window.  Once inside Jake says "Well, it ain't much, but it's home". 

Elwood asks "How often does the train go by?" and Jakes replies "So often you won't even notice it".

"So often that you won't even notice it" is great when you have a speeding train that repeatedly passes outside your window. However, it is not so good for other things.  

Our brains are amazing aren't they?  We can tune out repetitive and invasive sounds and events so they don't overwhelm us. But there's a down side to this. Our same brain has the ability to do that for everything.  

Things that we do every day; taking a shower, drinking your first cup of coffee, driving to work, preparing dinner, etc... can easily become those events that happen so often we don't even notice them.  

I aspire to live a grateful and observant life but I know that I can often fall into the "not noticing" mindset.  When I find myself doing this, I stop and make a conscious effort to notice and appreciate everything.  I take a moment to be thankful for all the little details that make up my life.  And what's really amazing is that when I do this, I always find more to be thankful for. 

Blues Brothers Train Scene - Bing video