Ethan’s Journey

​today’s weather was amazing! A great day for a boat ride. I took the dogs for a walk and had some coffee. I was glad to have the day off.  Avery and Kendall left this morning to go back to reality. Penny and Moe got to run along side me on the bike. They love this because it is all off leash. They are breathing quite heavy at the end. So am I. I took Moe for a ride in the paddle boat. He loves it. He was not a good helper. He didn’t even help me paddle one time. We went out on the boat and anchored off of Fox Island. Rick came over and tied his boat up to us. The boys took turns riding the jet ski’s. They also hung out at the island for quite some time. The boys chatted, razzed each other and whole heartedly laughed at themselves. It was fun to listen to. I always remember in moments like these that this is something I feared I would miss at one point. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get to talk to Ethan again. I am glad for him to have these moments. I think of our donor family and...

​today was perfect weather. Warm, humid, slight breeze. The sun was shining down smiling on us. Avery, Kendall and I rode the mile down the road to the cottage bakery. A lady has her she she’d set up with all her baked goods. Avery combed through what they had and decided on a peanut butter scone as her birthday treat. I went out on the boat. I totally enjoy the boat ride and anchoring by the small island across from us. I like the stillness of the area. Diane brought her double tube and let me float with her for at least a half hour.  While I was gone, Avery and Kendall drove to Watertown for a bit. When they returned, the wind picked up a little but not bad. Avery and I spent the afternoon tethered to the dock just floating peacefully in the water sitting in the double tube. Kendall sat on the dock and the three of us chatted and giggled at life.  The three boys came out on the dock with their remote control boats. Those boats were zooming around. We were pretending what it ...

​happy 4 th of July! Today was a leisurely day. I woke up at almost 8:30 this morning! Woo hoo!  Avery was up so we walked the dogs together. It was so quiet. We could hear the birds singing. The cows and pigs at the nearby farm were making a little bit of noise and it smelled a little manure-ish when we walked by them. It was nice out until about 1:00. We had our snacks and sat out in the sprinkle. It was so humid, we didn’t mind getting a little we.  The lake is measuring about 82 degrees in the area we swim in.  Ethan and his friends went out on the paddle boards as well as the paddle boat. They were all laughing and giggling, which is contagious. These boys are hilarious with their language and digs on one another. Scott was shooting Phil in the back of the head with a squirt gun saying “I am shooting you in the bald spot Phil.” Just dumb stuff like that. The slushie machine was used in abundance. I had it set up outside with non-alcoholic juice. Normally you can ad a...

​I had to work today and felt very sorry for myself. Boo! I am observing the holiday on Monday. Ethan and his buddies had a relaxing day. Ethan worked a little bit on his fireworks. His friends went to town. When they got back, they all went in the lake. While they were gone, Ethan starting building things for his show. Ethan asked where the snorkeling gear was. These three chuckle heads put on the snorkeling gear and were just laughing in the lake. I was wonderful to hear. This lake has provided us with decades of lake silliness. Moe got a lake bath. He was warm after one of his walks. I quick gave him a bath to dry off in the sun, in between my calls. Ethan’s one friend shared he is lactose intolerant as he was eating several pieces of cheese and pizza with cheese on it. I was immediately thankful the guys were in a tent and not imploding my camper with noxious gas. I told the other guy in the tent that I hope he rested in peace. Avery and Kendall arrived. Their drive was uneventful....

 I woke up early to drive up to camp with the dogs. As I was packing, these two goofballs packed themselves. There was no way I was leaving them behind! Moe was my co-pilot. He is silly sitting in the front seat like a person.  He sits the entire ride. Looks out the window and stares at other drivers. I can’t imagine my ride without the dogs.  Jiminy let me know he had to go potty mid way into the journey. I pulled over at a school to let him out. The other three jumped out as well. I could hear the Benny Hill theme song playing as I ran around trying to corral all 4 dogs. I have the mostly deaf and blind Ferguson, little Jiminy, Penny that was alerting me to the wind blowing and Moe just trotting around peeing on things. We arrived safely. I was able to log into work and get things done. Our camping fridge and freezer are full to the max. I used my former Tetris skills to pack it. After work I took the dogs for a walk. Moe found a dead bird that he thought was alive. He ...

​it has been a mentally taxing week. Trying to coordinate vacation, while training someone is a lot. Training someone with a reasonable workload is difficult. But with the piled on work load that I have it is a little overwhelming. I think my adrenal glands are working overtime and my cortisol level is just permanently high. I was on a meeting today and had to turn my camera off to get ready to go to work at the vet office. I had to switch to my phone so I could listen to the meeting on my drive. As soon as that meeting was done, I clocked in. We had a small and mighty crew tonight and finished on time. Yay! Teamwork makes the dream work. I had a good and thoughtful chat regarding vet corporations versus private ownership and the pros and cons of each. I enjoyed that and felt like I was able to see both perspectives. I came home and packed up the car for an early departure. I am excited to have my kids together this weekend. We don’t have many instances where we are together these days...