New Internet experiences and life without Sadie-girl

I officially joined face book last week and am amazed at what a not so counter culture it is. More screen time for all of us. I have to work hard to stay connected but not get too sucked into the vortex. 2.5 hours goes by quickly when you're not looking. that happened to me last week.

My old friend Martin was in town a week before Thanksgiving, so we had a dinner here with most everyone that was part of the "girls" wedding party including Martin. We made burgers on the grill in chilly weather. We laughed and used our many pieces of relaxation "equipment". No that's not a dirty thing. I've just collected various homemedic and massage tools over the years in my effort to stay relaxed through changes.

Obama's Weekly Update

Obama says it well.

सदी पास

I don't remember exactly what I said during the last entry, but I'll follow up on Sadie's passing.
As things happen it all happened the way it was meant to...
Byron took Friday off from work. Sadie was extremely weak. We called my Mom and My Aunt Carrie who was in town visiting for the weekend from Minnesota. My Mom and Carrie happily agreed to spend the day with Charlie, so Byron and I could spend important time saying good-bye to Sadie.
They came to our home and made it so easy to transition. My Mom looked so empathetic as she hugged me in the living room. Sadie mounted her last greeting for them and then layed down in front of the fireplace by my Aunt Carrie. Carrie pet her and whispered "sweet nothings" to her of comfort and support and Sadie needed that.
Byron pulled out a photo album and shared puppy pictures of Sadie. We also had pictures of friends, family and Sadie out on our dining room table. I needed to see faces of people I love and who love us, and we needed to look at pictures of Sadie during her happy and healthy days.
Finally we went to the vet 20 minutes late...it was hard to go. Byron wrapped her in a blanket she loved, and we put her in her bed in the back of the wagon. She was so frail that it appeared difficult for her to find a position she liked. The vet is only about a half of a mile, if that, from our home, so she didn't have to brace herself around too many corners as we drove.
Once we got there the reality hit harder for Byron. Nursing experience didn't help me too much with my own grief. I was in comfort mode instead of grief mode and it's only gradually slapping me in the face.
I will say that she looked me directly in the eyes as I had my hand on her front paw. I told her we loved her and we were going to take the pain away soon. She had a hard time looking at Byron b/c she knew he was hurting. He put his hand on her other paw and it was a nice moment. Dr. Sipes at Westwood Animal Hospital was very professional, competent and compassionate. He was able to give her an injection of a barbituate and it was literally a couple of minutes before he checked her heart to find that her body was lifeless. She was ready.
I had to look at her for a while to know it was real. She looked so peaceful. I remember her eyelashes looking so pretty. She was such a beautiful animal.
Then, we went to Winsteads for a comfort burger. I played "My Girl" on the jute box. We ordered hot chocolate, burgers, fries and an apple dumpling for dessert. Winsteads was packed and it was probably good. If we had gone home or to a quiet place there's no telling how dehydrated our eyes would be.
Byron decided we should go to the Antique Mall downtown and it was the best decision. Lot's to look at as a distraction. It's his favorite thing to do...look at, touch, fix, spout endless knowledge of when it was made, by who and the history behind it all. We were in the moment and forgot our sorrows.
We found two wooden chairs for children that we ended up buying and a metal shelving unit for his workshop we've got to arrange in the basement. Progress.
Then we headed back to my Mom's. Charlie was a happy clam, and so were the fairy Godmothers. They had a great day together; bathed him, gave him tummy time, and lots of singing and oo-ing and ah-ing.
Mom had a beautiful dinner fixed and we sat down, ate, and talked at the table. Byron turned the TV on to find a documentary on a musician or band ? can't remember who --- oh yeah, oops, can't remember. ugh sleep deprivation :-). I found a drawer full of old pictures, so I passed them back and forth with my Mom and Aunt Carrie. Good times.

We stayed the night at Moms. It was just too much to come home to our house knowing we wouldn't be greeted by our girl. I know I know, all this sounds so hokey over a dog, but I never realized how attached humans can be with domestic animals. She was the first one I've lived with for years and loved. Now I truly understand.

I'm gonna wrap it up cause this has been long, but therapeutic to write.

I miss her greatly and it will take a while to get used to life without Sadie.

Sad over Sadie

Well, the dreaded days are here that we've know we would face for the past four years. Our beloved Dog, Sadie, has suffered from Addison's Disease (like JFK) and she is in her final days. We are moving through sadness, denial and a plan. We have decided to spend the day together as a family with her tomorrow. She has been gradually refusing food since last Saturday until today when she completely refused water and food. She is terribly weak and surprisingly she stands up and goes outside, down stairs, but has nothing to void.
It's very hard to come to terms with as she is such a significant part of our family and has been one of Byron's Best Friends for the past 11 years. We get teary thinking about it, and both cried today about the reality of how close she is to death.

The greatest things about Sadie have been:

When she lays down on the floor she crosses her front paws over each other like the classy "lady" that she is. Even in illness she is doing this.
Welcomes us by running to the door upon our arrival. She's been our security system always...letting us know if someone is walking by, or on the premises - with a loud bark...scaring strangers enough to stay away, but welcoming everyone once they are "cleared" by us.
She's gentle, loves walks, grew to love our cat...to the point where she defends our cat against neighborhood offenders (the only time she's aggressive), never jumped up to eat our food. Stayed behind a barricade even if it was just a wall of pillows or a piece of cardboard. Never jumped up on furniture. Is gentle with Charlie and our neices, Olivia and Mairenn. Loves to rest her head on the edge of couch, a coffee table or our knees when she wanted attention. There's no dog like her. When we would go on walks and while other dogs would "freak out" barking upon sight of a second dog...Sadie would just keep on going sniffing, disinterested in dogs having a spaz. Sometimes it was almost as if she thought she was human. She's a sweetheart and we hope to decrease her suffering tomorrow.

Idealism

Byron has our computer set to www.boingboing.net as the homepage for the internet.
Tonight I looked over the updates there and found a great video about what if...
The New York Times cover page said "The Iraq War is Over"
see video:
http://vimeo.com/2215007

while watching the video I learned about a woman named Judith Miller and looked up her name on google to find:
http://judithmiller.org/

First-Timer

This is my first attempt at blogging. My Aunt Carrie suggested it when I was pregnant with Charlie. It seemed like a daunting task until this evening when my friend, Vicky, sent a link to her's. I saw the link to create a new blog and it only took a couple of steps. Thrilling!

Now I can update family and friends on the changes in our family.

The latest news is that we went up to Wisconsin for Charlie's first Halloween. He was Leo the Lion, cause he is one! Above is a picture of Charlie with His Grandpa Kelly and cousin Martha. Martha was incredible with Charlie. Very compassionate, observant and helpful...especially with the passifier. Practice for a sibling!

That trip was the second time Charlie flew on an airplane. The first time MoMo and I took him to Colorado to visit his Great-Grandparents. It was incredible how content he was throughout the trip and it was a gift to all of us to be together.

As for me, I went back to work just before Halloween. It's still an adjustment, but the awkwardness should get better with MoMo watching Charlie, and a good reason to go to work...kids and to get out of the house for adult socialization!

Charlie just started rolling over on Saturday. I slept in while Byron witnessed his first role over! I saw it with my own eyes for the first time today. So exciting. He has made it thru the newborn phase and it's a relief to watch him grow and hit the milestones.

We are so excited that O'Bama won. It's a lot to absorb, but quite a milestone for our country! Intellegence, equality, and the pursuit of the common good can prevail!

More photos sometime soon...