Ethan’s Journey

 Sarah surprised me with a trip to The Wild Animal Park in Syracuse. It isn’t quit a zoo, but has lots of animals and enclosures. It was a bit chilly but the animals we out and about.  We saw tigers, lions, monkeys, otters, warthog, porcupines, kangaroos and more. So cool. I can’t imagine seeing a kangaroo in the wild. We were petting goats and a llama was spitting at me. RUDE! Then I got to cross something off my bucket list. We fed the giraffes. I don’t think I could have been more excited. Their tongues are purple. I read that because giraffes spend up to 12 hours a day eating, their dark tongues act like sunscreen to protect them. Science is cool! There was a Pygmy hippo. It was a male. His male part looked as if it were put on backwards. We learned this backwards anatomy helps them breed a little bit better especially in water. Mating was in the air. The male cheetah was trying to romance  his lady. I explained to a horrified child that they were “playing leap frog” ...

 I met up with Sarah today. This weekend we are just staying local in an hotel for the weekend. I am giving her the gift of time. (It benefits me too, bonus!) We did some light shopping. We have gotten into the habit of evaluating our cashier’s customer service at stores. At one store my cashier was a delight, Sarah’s was struggling. We made up some ridiculous scenario why. We checked into our hotel and out our drinks in the fridge. We did old lady things like go to dinner at 4:30 to beat the crowd (it may have been closer to 5:00 cause we are wild and crazy). We had a nice dinner. Each of us ordered a fancy drink.  With our bellies full, we headed back to the hotel to put on PJ pants. We watched a few crime shows and a move while having adult beverages. Not a bad way to spend a Friday night. My 21 year old self would be disapppointed. Oh well. We all have to chase our joy. My joy is at a restaurant on a Friday night with no wait time! We had several inappropriate conversation...

 This morning’s coffee chat was about the man in Hawaii that assaulted his wife with a rock. He was found guilty. I am not part of the jury, I did not have all the facts. I made my assumption he was guilty after hearing bits and pieces of the trial. Mostly the part where he confessed to his son what he did and then put his son in the predicament of having to testify to put him in jail. What a jerk. I altered my voice to sound like the guilty party in every Scooby Doo episode. “I would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling nurses” I mocked pretending the be the man found guilty. Who goes on a walk with a loaded string filled with undisclosed injectable medication? The whole situation is pretty awful. Moe wanted to be outside today. I opened the door and moved his bed so he could be nosy and not bite anyone. He sleepily guarded the house. You can see little Jiminy right by his side. He was not guarding the house at all. Ha! We went to my Mom and Gene’s tonight...

 Paul’s results came back good from his angiogram. He has a dilated (widened) part of his aorta (the vessel that carries blood to the body) but it has been that way for 23 years. They will keep watching for changes. Yay! I went over the warning signs of an issue with Paul. I can’t have him dying on me. He is more valuable alive. Also, who would put up with me otherwise? The mud continues in our yard. What a mess! Mother Nature is really trying to beat down my daffodils. My daffodils will prevail. They are so hardy and no match for Mother Nature’s temperature fluctuations. By this afternoon they were perky again! I let The dogs out this morning. Penny and Ferguson came back, but NO MOE! I peaked out the windows to find him. I just see him sitting like a statue, guarding over the house. I can’t leave him outside alone for long in case a delivery person comes. I am afraid Moe will bite them. He is very serious about guarding! I moved my computer desk so I could watch him. He stayed li...

 I was able to sneak in some fitness today with walking in the driveway. Everything else is squishy outside. I made 75 % of the dogs go outside with me while I walked sit was too cold for Jiminy. He runs away from the door when it is cold. We went over guesstimating for costs for Ethan when he moves into his place. I think he is a little bit overwhelmed at how much being an adult sucks….paying bills…working just to pay bills. I am frustrated with the slow progress of this building. Not enough to insert myself into the mix, but just in general. The weather and wetness has played a large part in the halted progression. This evening Paul went to get a snack. He “looked all over” but couldn’t find the bag of carrots in the fridge. “Were your eyes open when you looked?” I asked trying to be helpful (that is a lie). I knew that clearly his eyes were not open when he looked. I went to the refrigerator and opened the door. There they sat in plain sight. I started razzing him. “They would h...

 Paul seemed a bit nervous today with his procedure. Last night Ethan was telling him it wasn’t that bad and he shouldn’t be nervous. Easier said than done. We chatted about how Ethan has been through so much medically (since he was a baby) and Paul had not. This is a big deal for Paul even though it was an easy procedure. Paul was reading there they will be using radiation for the imaging and panicked a little.  “Isn’t radiation bad for you?” He asked. “Not this small amount.” I assured him. I reminded him that he has been exposed to radiation all over the place. Just small amount. The airport, smoke detectors, ceramic tiles…not all kinds but some kinds. Plus we can even ingest it (potassium 40). I did my wifely duty of keeping the car ride light. I noticed a school for the blind. I pointed it out and I very seriously asked him “Do you think they have a driving school?” We arrived. We went to the floor for cardiology. There were signs all over saying to check in via kiosk. ...

 Paul is having an angiogram tomorrow. I was reading to him what to expect based on Google’s assessment of the procedure. I got to the potential complications.  “While generally safe, occasionally patients can experience a loss of limb due to allergic reaction.” “WHAT?!?!?” He said in a panicked tone “And their penis can disintegrate”. I finished. I burst into laughter. “That does NOT happen!” He said in a very disgusted voice. He called me a swear word. I earned it and was proud of it! We hosted an Easter lunch. We had family over for lunch. It was a nice day and we spent it together. I was able to put daffodil’s from my garden in a couple of vases. They smelled so good. We had a leisurely late afternoon and evening. I practiced looking at the inside of my eyelids for a little bit. We picked out the man doors for Ethan’s barndominium. Paul was returning the favor and was being super annoying on purpose and thinking he was hysterical. (He was mildly hysterical at best.) “Did y...