1/8/24

 As I sat on the couch with my coffee, I remembered the mornings of rushing out the door at 5:30 am to start my 10 or 12 hour day. Ugh! How did I do that for over 20 years day in and day out?

Paul came and sat down with me briefly. At that moment, Ethan came downstairs. He and Jiminy have bonded and he gives Jim special treatment. He saw Jiminy, with his one little eye, staring at him. Jim’s tail was wagging and he was ready to play. 

Ethan just started running in a circle through the house. From the livingroom to the kitchen, through the dining room, back to the living-room. I thought about our donor, Nicole. This little micro moment of joy was not possible without her checking that box for organ donation.

Both Paul and I watched this go on and on for a few minutes. We were laughing and the little pitter patter of 5 pound chihuahua feet thundering across the floor. It was a wonderful moment and a gift.

We also got our tickets today for Aruba. Yay! It’s actually happening!!!!!! Tickets and housing are secure. Now we just have to show up.

Tomorrow will be bitter sweet as we say goodbye to a team that has gotten Ethan to where he is today. We still talk to many of our nurses routinely. We will get a new team. I am nervous about how they will be to work with. 

The most fun thing that happened today is that I received a precious gift in the mail. It was a vanilla scented candle labeled “You work harder than an ugly stripper”. I do work pretty hard. It gave us a great laugh. It was debatable if we should smell the candle after the last candle we received was labeled “shart” and smelled as it was labeled. Yuck!🤢 Avery braved the waters and took the first sniff. It smells like a fresh vanilla donut.