Ethan’s Journey

 I am trying to figure out if I am a jerk or not. I feel like a jerk. A neighborhood kid every so often will come to the door and ask for our cans. It started last summer. He rode his bike here with a little tow behind infant seat to place his cans in. So cute. He let us know his parents were in debt and he was trying to help them out by collecting cans. The kid was about 9/10 years old. Cute kid. He lives several houses down on the next street over. I felt sad for the situation and gave the kids some cans.  He has returned several times, often knocking on the door while I am in a meeting or on a call, making the dogs go bonkers. I have to excuse myself from the call/meeting to see who is interrupting things.  I also am concerned that if Moe is outside, he could potentially bite this kid. We rarely let Moe out without supervision to keep him from having the opportunity. Bit what if? Over the winter, the parents started driving this kid over. They would wait in the car, wh...

 I was chilly with the fan in the window last night. Yikes. Ethan slept with Jiminy and immediately woke up and medicated Jiminy. That made my heart happy. I went to my physical therapy appointment. My physical therapist did some elbow work on my butt cheek. It sounds dirty. I assure you it is not. It is a bit uncomfortable, but it always makes me feel better the next day. Fingers crossed for the same result. I loaded the littles up and took them to the vet. Dr. Jackie and I both felt that Jiminy would be better off waiting until next week to vaccinate him. He only needs his lifestyle vaccines, Lepto and Lyme. I had them draw his heartworm test when they checked his electrolytes on Tuesday (to save him a poke). Dr. Jackie did say that Penny is due for a dental cleaning. I agree. Her gums look a bit red and yucky. I know they are expensive and they are an unsatisfying way to spend money, but they do help dogs FEEL better.  Over the last 10 years or more, the advances in protoco...

 Jiminy did not have any seizures today. He and his two small friends go to the vet for their vaccines tomorrow. Their wonderful and amazing, Jiminy saving vet! I worked outside the majority of the day. It was beautiful out. I sat out front for a while and then stood at the table for a bit, out back. We are building a barn on the property that we own next to us. It will have a living quarters as well as a garage. Ethan is going to live there. He will have his own space, but be right next door in case he has any medical issues. It gives him freedom, but keeps him close. It’s a win win! We have been in the process of setting that up, getting the proper permits, planning and more. Today the trusses were delivered. It is the first real piece that we can lay eyes on, to know that this is actually happening. Ethan has been very reluctant to talk about this. He feels like whenever he looks forward to something, there tends to be an issue and he is let down when things do not come to fruit...

 I woke up very groggy with Jiminy snuggled up next to me. We had an uneventful slumber, just the way I wanted it. Jiminy was due for his anti-seizure medication at 7:00 am and I gave it at 6:50. 6 minutes later, he was on his side having a seizure. Ethan left for work very upset. I assured him that I thought the seizure was due to him being due for medicine and it hadn’t kicked in yet. Still, Ethan is worried about his “child”. Yesterday we talked about how devastating it will be if Jiminy dies. While hard, Ethan shared that he would have trouble existing without him and knows he will sink into a deep depression. We talked about how valid that would be. I remember my depression after my Toonces died suddenly. Phineas was hard, but easier in a way because he made the decision easy for us. Grief is grief. Ethan shared he doesn’t want Jiminy to die until he is 20….or super old like that. I told him that there could be a possibility that something happens and he passes away young. We ...

 I woke up with a sore throat and plugged ears. At least I didn’t feel so tired like yesterday. I had a light day which helped. After dinner we got a surprise visit from Avery. Yay! She visited for a bit and then left. I went down stairs to switch over the laundry. I heard what I thought was Moe bounding down the stairs. What a goof. I ran around the corner to startle him.  To my horror, it was Jiminy. My sweet little miracle dog. He immediately started screaming and went into a seizure. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. If he were a normal dog, he would have been bounced around, but his poor little head just has no protection. We signed up for this. We vowed to give him as normal of a life as possible. Obviously we try to minimize accidents as much as possible but they are going to happen. We adjust. We never leave the basement door open again. We separate the dogs when fed. We don’t give treats to the other dogs around Moe. I scooped him up. I was so pissed at myself. I left ...

 We woke up early and were on the road by 5:30 am. We were both struggling as we were tired and had not had coffee. I also didn’t feel so hot. Scratchy throat. Congestion. Foggy brain…staring off for god knows how long…then asking myself “what are you supposed to be doing?” I was struggling to keep my eyes open which is not like me. I went to bed early. We rode in silence to get coffee. We stopped at a gas station to grab the coffee that was going to be magical and solve my grogginess. When I went to pay, I realized I did have any of my cards. Not magical at all. This included my license, my insurance care, AAA card, library card…odd cards to steal. Is someone going to check out a bunch of books under my name? I went through the pockets of my purse while the cashier was watching. Paul didn’t have his wallet in the store, so I sent him out to the car to get it. There was nothing in the pockets of my purse. I apologized to the cashier lady and told her that this is why we needed the ...