Ethan’s Journey

​I was finishing up some work things “after work” and I threw on the documentary The Crash. It is about a 17 year old girl that crashed her car that killed 2 other people but she survived.  It was interesting how they determined it was a murder vs. a medical accident. I am not sure I agree or disagree. I am glad that I didn’t have to come to a determination. It seemed the judicial system based her innocence off of videos, tic Toks, text messages all that built her character unfavorably and painted her as a bratty teen.  I am so glad that I have not had to walk in her parent’s shoes.  I can’t imagine law enforcement going through my phone and picking apart every text message I send or video I have laughed at and shared. 😬 How would you be portrayed in court if your messages and videos that were sent to friends were the only criteria used to publicly build your character?   I have my cute animal videos going for me. Those probably would shine favorably. I have a fair ...

 We have a busy few days ahead of us. They will need to be tackled with precision. I have ordered groceries to pick up, had Ethan check his medication supply got things ready for the house sitter. Paul and I arrived home around 8:45 this evening. It was a mad dash to unload the car and feed the dogs, repack things get the laundry started. I have a list to complete by Thursday morning.  Our ride home was full of slow people. Farm wagons, hay carts, a U-Haul that was in the left hand lane going right hand lane speed. Annoyances! However, Paul drove patiently and we arrived safe! That is all that counts. When we walked in the house, Ethan was in front of the fan with the air conditioning on. It has been sweltering for him at work. He has been using his neck fan, drinking as much as possible and resting when he gets home. It is a lot for him but he keeps showing up and plugging away like a champ! Today at work, I had our new hire shadowing. She did well. We will be working closely...

 Today poison Ivey and myself are in a standoff. While I am still itchy, my back up (prednisone) is really helping to tip the scales in my favor. It is always great when you have the right answer in your corner! Suck it poison Ivey! My rash looks nasty but it just a little itchy at this point. I am winning. (Thanks for having my back prednisone!!!!). Paul didn’t get it! Yay!  Paul spent the day getting our dock in and ready. He and the neighbors were instrumental in getting this dock situated. The sense of community at the lake far outshines the news articles where it is reported that no one stands up for one another or helps one another. I did some weeding in the garden. I spent some time riding the bike while Penny and Moe ran along side it. I cleaned up the camper and prepared to be working all day tomorrow.  I have to train my coworker who is taking over part of my territories! She is so eager to get started. The next two weeks we will be mostly inseparable.  We ...

I  am proud of how much growth Moe has demonstrated. So far he has seemed to recognize his people from last year and even walk up to them to sniff and allow petting. Wow! Even men with hats and beards. I took the dogs on a few lengthy walks. Moe was so hot he did go in swimming briefly. He then napped for hours in the sun. Dog days of summer. Moe and Penny went on a run with the bike. They ran their brains out and then napped hard. We all pitched in and helped paint the dock. The plan in to put in the new dock tomorrow.  Paul is going to put the boards down, then install trex (material that never needs to be replaced) on top of the wood. Paul stained some boards and got things looking nice. Brian and I went on a nice walk with the dogs. We chatted and he was able to have nice conversations with everyone.  Andy got us with the prank war. I am finding cute little plastic figurines all over my camper, while he brought out garlic salt with a bright orange sticker that said -“...

 Have you ever turned the camera on, on your phone and the camera is facing you? This happened to me this morning and I had a jump scare. Ugh!!!! Scary indeed! Paul and I drove up to camp. We had a relaxing ride with only a few idiots getting in the way. One guy would speed up, then slow down. Paul had some un-tasteful nic-names We finally passed him. Dude was passed by a mini van. Ouch!!!! Paul and I worked throughout the day. My work day started at 6:00 am and I worked in the car. I worked outside for a bit overlooking the lake. I will not open my computer until Monday.  We had a casual dinner with Family. The wind died down and we had a campfire by the lake. My brother, Brian came up for a visit. We laughed and laughed.   Moe was impressive. He has embraced camping life. There was no barking at my cousin, Andy, when he arrived or at Brian. Moe had his tail cautiously wagging and he was enjoying receiving some good body scratches and pets all over. My poison ivy looks l...

 Today seemed like one step forward and two steps back…or maybe 5 steps back. I kept my head down and kept plugging away. I received a new transition plan that was altered by a week. I took advantage of that and took two days off the week after the 4 th. Yay! I wasn’t going to take anytime off with transitioning happening that week. I will consider this life being kind to me. I finished my work at 3:42 (barely) and ran up, changed into some scrubs and left for the vet clinic to arrive at 4:00. I didn’t even think about dinner. Rookie move! I was very rewarded with the animals I got to see and work with. A mean chihuahua (I love them), old and sickly animals, I love them….and people that care about these stinky beasts just looking for a way to comfort their best friend.  One pet was entering a hospice type situation. Riddled with cancer, giving medications to subside symptoms for just a little more time. These people just need kindness.  I talked to an owner about kidney d...

 Sarah came over this evening. I love that we have these frequent sleepovers. We are able to catch up and dream about sitting at the campfire at camp. She was sharing all the end of school year things her daughter is doing. All the wins of getting a first job and hopefully getting her driver’s license. All exciting things. She is going into her senior year. Tomorrow I am working at the vet hospital after work. I am excited to see my friends there. I want to catch up with them and hear the goings on at the clinic. We also share some laughs. My social time to touch other people’s pet’s and help them. But not touch them in a creepy way. I guess I should reword that. Someone may get the wrong idea. Ethan was out of sorts tonight. I am hoping whatever funk he is in, he can process and work through it.  For work, I have a lady on my team that I respect. She does a great job. She has been having a tough time with work the past couple of weeks. We made some plans to help ease her work...

​today was one solvable issue after another. But the kept coming. I finally shut my computer to just make it stop. I can deal with your issue tomorrow….leave a message. The dogs went for a couple walks. Ther was no pond jumping today. I kept Moe in a healed walk back to the front door.  Poison ivy is trying to win. I may need to call in the troops….medical intervention. Either way, I am going to win this battle. Screw you poison Ivy!!!!! -I knew what I was getting into!

​well I woke up with an itchy wrist. Blasted poison Ivey. I am not ready to lose! I am going to fight it! There is a small wound that was swollen that I likely sustained during my poison Ivey excavation. I wrapped it in gauze soaked in Domboro’s solution and secured it to my arm using dog bandage material that I had left over from Phineas. We will see how that turns out.  Domboro’s helps by removing the itch, reducing inflammation and DRYING rashes. Ewwwww. I have a rash. I am so attractive. 😩 as attractive as Typhoid Mary. Hopefully this halts things. If feels like I have 1000 single hairs lightly touching that area causing intense itching. The Domboro’s solution is helped immensely with the itch throughout the day. When Ethan got home from work, he worked on his fire works. My dining room table has some explosives on it. I looked around our house. There is clutter everywhere.  We have two Christmas trees in containers in our dining room for example. Once Ethan gets a floor ...

 Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s, uncle’s, grandpa’s etc!  We spent the day at the in-laws. Mom and Gene were there as well as Paul’s sister. Avery went with Kendall and spent the day with Kendall’s family. I encourage Avery to spend time with both family’s. Mother’s Day she and Kendall spent with us. Father’s Day was with Kendall’s side. We are all adults and understand that Avery and Kendall won’t be around for every single family function.  We try to be thoughtful of where Avery is going. Avery thinks sometimes she can do both families in one day. As her mom, I know she drains her energy quick and becomes emotional. She is learning to protect her energy. I took the dogs for a walk today. Moe psyched me out and made like he was running around the house, he then snuck up the path where I couldn’t see him and he jumped in the pond. He was filthy. He then got another bath in the outside hose to get the smell and dirt off. Ethan was in good spirits today. He told me all...

 Today was the day of “getting things done!” I got so much accomplished. I decided to “take one for the team” and tackle the massive amounts of poison ivy in the flower beds.  I suited up in my long pants, long sleeved shirt and rubber gloves. There was a lot of squatting and pulling that was happening. I was hot in the sun. Sweat was dripping from my brow into my eyes. Super attractive. I got mad at it! I was annoyed it was there. I started pulling out roots like a mad woman. Paul can attest that I am not nice when mad. When I was finished I told Ethan to stay outside. “Give me 5 minutes in the house before you come in.” I said “I am stripping nude in the basement and washing everything and will be running naked to the shower.” I did what I said. I took a cold shower due to how hot I was. I pulled out so much poison ivy. I was tracking the roots and pulling those out as well.  I picked up all the leaves and tossed them in the woods. I washed everything I touched with dis...

 I received my transition plan for work. It seems the transition will take place the week we are at the islands. Awe man! I was going to take a few days off but this is going to put a wrench in that. Boo! I was able to pick up my groceries tonight so that tomorrow I can get cracking at preparing meats for our trip AND do a little meal prep too! I also need to do yard work tomorrow so it should be a busy day. Avery sent me the cutest audio message. Ever since the kids have been young, when I see something that is pretty I point it out. “Look at the beautiful sunset. It is almost as beautiful as I am.” Years this has been going on.maybe even 20 years or more.  Avery used that line on Kendall’s mom. Kendall’s mom got them some marigold’s for their porch. Avery took a picture of them thriving. She attached the note “these flowers are almost as pretty as you are.” She said. Kendall’s mom thought that was great. It made her day. Avery shared the news with me…..flattery will get you ...

 I had the difficult conversation of saying NO and declining this position that was offered to me. Pushed on me? Pressured on me? Heavily suggested I need this in my life! I know I was disappointing my boss but I have to stay true to myself. I hate that feeling of disappointing her. She is wonderful and I love her. I was flattered she thought I could do a great job at it, but ultimately I had to stick with my gut. I felt awful afterward. I was proud of myself that I did it over the phone. It would have been easier as an email. I felt I owed her a phone call. I know she is in a tough spot. I told her I could help be an advisor or assist with small projects with the person they choose, but I didn’t want that responsibility of building what she wanted me to build. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest. Things I don’t like:  disappointing people  having difficult conversations with people people - the ones that I don’t know and are acting foolish! The rest of the ...

 I woke up this morning and Paul asked me if I remembered him waking me up because I was snoring. I did not remember as I slept so soundly and beautifully. He then shared my response to his accusations of snoring. “You snore!…… I am a lady. I don’t snore.” He found this comical. I told him this morning….even in my sleep I tell jokes. I was most certainly snoring. Another day and more pressure from leadership to accept this new position. I tried to approach it with an open mind but my gut is screaming “No-Way!” My gut is usually spot on. I went to the dentist and got my crown. My idea of a crown is something that sparkles and is so pretty!  Did you know this crown looks like it was made out of tooth material? Not sparkles. What a rip off. It should be called a tooth hat. That is what it is essentially. I told them that the appointment certainly was not what I expected. Dropped $1400.00 and nothing is shiny or made of diamonds. I thought I was leaving with a crown!  I then ...

​today it seemed on problem came after the next. They weren’t overly complex, but just never eased up. After 10 hours I finally shut my computer and quit for the evening.  The dogs got to go on a walk a few times today. I have been leaving Ferguson behind. He doesn’t want to run fast, he wants to mosey. He had several chances to mosey around the yard today-his favorite. We had a 3 person family meeting about the next two weeks as it will be quite busy.  The poison ivy rash is winning so far. I may need medical intervention to win. Either way….i am going to win this battle. I just need to call for back up.

I was approached by leadership today with an opportunity to do a different job. It would still sort of be recruiting but working with students. I was flattered they thought I could make the program successful, but I am very hesitant as I like my team and where I am currently am. I made a pros and cons list. I have to give some sort of answer by tomorrow. It was heavy on my mind. It dominated my afternoon thoughts. I had a running pros and cons list. Ugh! After work, I went to dinner with a friend. I gave her a cottage core birthday mug. It had flowers on it with surprises in the middle. She loved it. We laughed! We had margaritas with dinner. We chatted and caught up. It was a nice evening. When I got home, Ethan had fed the dogs without being asked. Wow!!! This is such progress. I went to bed early.

  The dogs crack me up. They do live a good morning snooze in the sunshine. I visited and had dinner with Mom and Gene this evening. They are having a blast at their new place. Avery came to visit on her way home from work as well. I was delighted my mom kept the little snowmen that I would hide for her to find around the house. Avery and I hid some. I like the thought of her smiling when she finds one. Silly game meant to bring joy. Avery got the tour of the new place.  Mom and Gene took us to dinner at one of the restaurants. Everyone is so nice there. Everyone says “hello”, the windows are bright and cheerful and we enjoyed visiting. We were laughing at Mema and were talking about how she should run people over with her scooter if they piss her off.  Avery talked through her thoughts on her next steps. She has options and a plan. We had large bowls of ice cream for dessert. Yum! Gene got 4 scoops of ice cream! He was so happy! When I got home Ethan had already fed the ...

​Carrie- they did have Lake Shore Fog they were serving. 😁 Today we had a leisurely morning. Heather and I sat around and talked about the events of the weekend with Paul and Jason. We had many laughs about awkward conversations, high lights and just commenting on different people we met or spoke to. Paul and I got on the road to camp. We arrived at camp a little after 11 am. We stopped and grabbed a breakfast sandwich on our way. I didn’t spend much time at camp. I was able to put some things away, get an inventory of items that I need to bring up.  We visited with Lois and Craig for a bit as the rain was hammering down. We assessed the damage to the dock from wild weather several days ago. The dock has seen its last days and is currently in hospice.  I realized that I will be unable to go up next weekend with Father’s Day and not being able to juggle the dogs appropriately. That is fine. I will manage. Ethan said he got lots done with the fireworks and feels ready for his f...

 The beds are so hard. Shockingly, it isn’t too bad for sleeping. I slept well. We had beautiful weather today. A nice breeze so it felt “just right” outside. We went to the breakfast and lunch provided.  Heather and I walked around campus, went to the book store and listened to the birds through the Merlin app. It was disappointing there was nothing special that was recorded. I am not sure if I was expecting a blue footed booby to pop up on the ap. Bit there were just boring birds like Robins. After lunch, we stayed mostly in the courtyard of the dorm we were staying at. There were Adirondack chairs, picnic tables and tents to sit under to escape the sun. There was music on and it was a good vibe. One of our sorority sisters came out to visit Heather and I. We have known her well over 25 years. It was fun to visit with her. There were activities set up for us in the afternoon. They had a beer/wine tasting set up. They had good beer too. I had a hazy IPA -citrus fog by Souther...

 Paul and I worked and then drove up to SUNY Canton for our alumni weekend with our college friends. It was a long drive, but we finally made it. Heather came outside to greet us and was dancing. Today is her birthday!!!!! What a greeting! Paul, Jason, Heather and myself have a suite on campus. We each have our own room, but there is a living room and kitchen to hang out in.  There isn’t a lot of people that Heather and I knew, so we went for a walk on campus, like we were going to class. We saw a ground hog that was surprisingly not shy. We stopped and watched him for a bit. I liked his teeth. We met a couple that also met at Canton. They graduated in 1971. They were talking about how the campus has changed and where things used to be. They also shared the bars and hang out spots they would go. The guys went out to a bar. Heather and I took our bras off, did nothing and enjoyed the evening in. 

 Moe and Penny had their dental cleanings today. I was worried Moe was going to bite someone. Turns out he is far better behaved without out me. He doesn’t have to protect. No growling, no snapping. Perfect.  He keeps me on my toes. Penny had 5 teeth removed. Moe had a canine tooth and another removed plus a mass taken off of his gums.  Both got some good pain medications. Moe is quite out of sorts. His canine tooth, they kept it for me, was impressive! He is going to be SORE for a few days!  By Thursday afternoon, I am mentally exhausted these days. The long hours I am putting in turns my brain to mush. I was feeling it around 6 pm. Paul priced out doors today for Ethan’s building. They are special order and will take 6-8 weeks to arrive. I told Paul to get a move on!!!!! I made our final mortgage payment today. That felt good! Checking things off our list of feeling accomplished. 😊 Avery shared that she and Kendall will be joining us at the islands for the 4 th! T...

 I have heard from several people about facing the shower, putting your back to the shower or twirling. It seems the majority of people are twirlers. Little petite ballerinas in the shower! So funny. I am a stationary ballerina. 🩰 It’s probably for the best. I am not that graceful and would likely break a hip. I did some light reading during my coffee consumption time. It was a study on a medication that has been shown to help reduce protein in the urine, a side effect of kidney disease that Ethan struggles with. It seemed promising at first. All the cool things noticed in the study. Then I read the side effect of sometimes causing increase potassium. Potassium increases can be detrimental to heart health. Nope! Disqualified! I will keep reading, searching and asking questions! I asked Ethan if he would be interested in participating in stem cell therapy. They take donor stem cells (mine) and give them to the transplant recipient (Ethan). He said he would be interested in learning...

 I slept like absolute garbage last night. I felt tired but couldn’t fall asleep. There isn’t anything really stressful going on to put my “worry” module into a tailspin. Nothing other than the normal day in and day out business. Once I did fall asleep, I woke up dumb.  I say that because I lost my phone, forgot I was looking for my coffee -just wandering around trying to remember what I was looking for, put my shirt on backwards, used conditioner twice on my hair……my eyes felt heavy and my head hurt a little. I don’t care for that feeling. Two thumbs down! With some coffee and extreme focus, I made it through the day as best as I could. I had some help from other members of my team. They caught me up on some things which was so appreciated. This evening was party time. We celebrated my friend Sandy’s 25 th anniversary of her 25 th birthday. I sent Paul on a wild goose chase to Fairport when the pub was in Greece. Man, I am such a jerk! I didn’t know or otherwise I would not h...

Work is a lot. I knew it would be. I wish our software doesn’t break every day. Some day…..maybe? Moe was bugging me to go out and sunbathe at about 7:15 am this morning. He was out the majority of the day. I took him for a lap around the field. He jumped in the pond again. He also got a hose bath again. He will now be put on a leash prior to re-entering the yard. Dumb dog! He is very clean! Paul was pissed because the did some weed whacking in an area where there is poison ivy. His allergy is pretty sensitive. He saw that it looked like poison ivy, but still did weed whacking sending the poisoning to aerosol form.  He then asked questions. He didn’t like the answer. He even tried to tell me I was wrong and that it wasn’t poison ivy.  Any amount of denial won’t prevent someone from poison ivy onset. He had choice and colorful words after I confirmed that it in fact was poison ivy. He immediately showered and foreshadowed that his eyes would be swollen shut in the morning. Paul...

 Cousins weekend is over. The Diiulio’s (not us) have left the state. Paul and I caught up on yard work today. I was able to try out my mini chainsaw and cut up branches for kindling. I collected 4 bags worth so far.  We had a tree fall in our back yard a while back. Paul cut up the big pieces and I told him I would pick away at the smaller branches. We can use it for our campfires in our back yard or for more kindling this year. Ethan worked a bit in the garage. He took several rests. Yesterday morning he had to go to the lab. He signed in and had to wait for the 7 people ahead of him. He typically has several blood tests. They check his two rejection medication doses, CBC, chemistry panel to look at his organ function, some kidney related tests, electrolyte levels, tryglycerides, thyroid level, ferritin/ iron level to help assess kidney function. And more. He has an elevation in his potassium again. He has been so careful with avoiding potato’s, bananas, and potassium rich f...

 We had breakfast and headed over to the in-laws. Avery, Julie and I took a lengthy walk and it was quite humid and warm out. We spent the afternoon poolside at cousin Chadd’s house. It is right across the street. The tunes were on, we were listening to music and chatting away. Avery, Julie and I did our Target run. We picked up some hair essentials and sun screen.  We ordered a bunch of pizza and wings. We gathered for a picnic and ate together. Yum! We had some cake for dessert to celebrate Marcus’s birthday. We watched in real time, the 6 year old go from pre cake, no sugar state to a wound up Tasmanian Devil from the sugar. He started oversharing, telling us he pooped his pants on a roller coaster. I told him that Paul does the same thing…..you know, so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed by sharing that information. He looked at Paul and you could tell his 6 year old wheels were turning with many questions to answer. He chose wisely and didn’t ask any further questions. Ethan ar...

 I am pretty sure I got into the poison ivy. But t is that time of year. I don’t have the rash yet but am itchy all over. Even the inside of my ear is itchy.  I spent several days in the garden. It is my own fault.  I googled what the purpose of it is on this earth. It seems everything has a purpose.  Poison ivy apparently provides food to wildlife and birds in the winter (and summer). It also prevents erosion because it pretty much grows every which way. Really? There isn’t a plant that does those things that is less itchy? I headed over to spend time with my in-laws. Avery arrived late afternoon. We all worked together to make dinner. We tried to keep it as easy as possible. After dinner, the cousins were across the street. We all filtered outside. There were 6 teens plus Avery and the 6 year old….who was in his glory. Little Luca. He saw the big kids playing corn hole, badminton, bocce and throwing the football around. Luca said that it looks like a family carniva...