The puppy is resting, so I am able to get some chores done. As I was straightening up, I came across some goodies I picked up at the dollar store and thought they were a terrific share for Pink Saturday: various pink floral file folders (which came in pkgs. of 3/ $1), floral pens (also 3/ $1....but I could only find two when I went to take a picture), tiny gift tags and a cute mini clip-board. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, but it matched the pens and files, so I couldn't pass it by.
Gretel and I got home a little while ago and she's trying to get herself acclimated, so this will be brief. After 45 minutes of listening to strict instructions from the vet, I finally was able to see my pup and hold her in my arms. It was the second best feeling in the world.The only thing that topped it was holding my babies for the first time. I will spare you the pictures, but she truly looks like Frankenstein, with all of the staples holding her back end together. My little FrankenFluffer! She's not terribly thrilled about having to stay still and wants desperately to careen around the house with her cat. She was less thrilled, however, when she actually made an attempt to try it.
Unless I am lieing (laying? I always mix those up) next to her, she's pretty whiney. I don't mind it one smidge, so that is all we have on our agenda for the day. Maybe, if she falls asleep, I can get some housework done...maybe not :-) Who cares? She's alive...and home...and I got to hear her sweet puppy sighs as soon as I picked her up! Boy, does this ever bring back those newborn baby days!
I hope Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound, doesn't mind terribly that I'm "joining" her Pink Saturday extravaganza...in a roundabout way. Anyone who has been following my blog knows that this week has been insane for me. I never got a chance to sign up, with Beverly, properly, but felt the need to add my two pink cents. I will sign up for next week, to make it official.
In between tedious chores & trying to keep my mind off my puppy's surgery yesterday, I did squeeze in a few little projects...and they just happen to fit Pink Saturday. I decided the "wart eggs" (as my son aptly named them) were just not going to beautify, no matter what I did to them. Into the garbage they went and I started over.
"Simple, simple, simple", I kept reminding myself. I painted some blown-out eggs the lightest pink, then added a touch of shimmer with some glass sparkle. I plopped them in a ceramic bowl, added a few millinery flowers and that's the end of that!
It never dawned on me that I could change my sweet teddy bear's attire and the blue frock she has always worn was looking a bit off in my pink & white bedroom. I dug through some of my daughter's old baby clothes and found an adorable ensemble that now matches my bedding. Two minutes of creating a new hairbow and I think she's looking like a whole new girl!
My last show & tell required no work, at all. It is my collection of silver & crystal do-dads that sits on my dresser. The pretty pink & gold rose is one from my good friend, Monica, and is the perfect compliment to the other trinkets...don't you agree?
The surgery is done and Gretel made it through with flying colors. The vet said this far surpassed the best possible outcome he could have imagined. I saw her (from afar) very briefly. She was still dopey, from the anesthesia, but such a sight for sore eyes. I'll pick her up tomorrow at noon and we'll begin the recuperation process at home. The vet gave me a mile-long list of instructions, which I will gladly follow to the most minute detail. My heartfelt thank you, yet again, to all of my sweet blog friends, for your prayers & support!!!
I am now going to take a nap :-)
I'm having a tough time focusing on even the most mundane, simplistic chores right now. Hopefully, that will change once I hear from the vet's office. I was browsing through the archives of E-Mail Ministry's messages and came across this one, which has always been one of my favorites. Seems to fit me perfectly right now. It's a bit long, but worth reading.
PUPPY SIZE
"Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the mother told the volunteer. "What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked. "Puppy size!" replied the mother. "Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for." "I know...we have seen most of them," the Mom said in frustration...Just then Danielle came walking into the office.
"Well, did you find one?" asked her Mom. "No, not this time," Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?" "You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said. Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend," she said.
Over the next few days, both Mom and Dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration. "We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.
Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs. Tired of the routine, Mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted. Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."
It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup. The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer. "Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!" "But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks," Mom said.
"No not size ---- the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said.
"Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!" The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.
"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said. Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"
Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath."
-- Author Unknown***From the first time I took her from the cage, at the pet store, Gretel has sighed and snuggled into my neck while I hold her. She still does it, every morning, when I get her out of her crate. I sure do miss those "puppy size".
I'm trying to keep myself productive and busy, while I wait for the surgeon to call (evidently, he hasn't gotten to the vet's office yet...it's gonna be a long day!). I'm puttering around the house: changing bed linens, doing dishes, folding laundry, etc. and I happened to look out the picture window in my living room. Oh, HECK NO.....that is not snow falling from the sky. Not on March 20th and certainly not when I need some sunshine today. Did someone neglect to fill Mother Nature in on this whole seasonal change thing....the one where spring follows winter...and so on??? I actually closed my eyes, thinking I could wish it away. Take a look at the pictures and tell me if it worked.
You all have no idea how much your prayers, encouraging comments & private emails have meant to me over the last 36 hours. Gosh, it feels like my world has been running in slow motion. Surely, it's been at least a week since our pup was hit by the car...feels that way! When I'm having a chronic period of sadness, I find myself coming back to my computer to check for new comments and to re-read the old ones. Your support has given me such solace and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Gretel will have surgery, first thing this morning, to repair her pelvis. The vet has been very pleased with the strength she has shown and feels she is stable enough to undergo the operation. Because of the timing of the accident, they'd rather get it done today, than wait until Monday. I hope it's not premature, but am putting my faith in the doctors and pray God is guiding them in the right direction. :::laughing::: Okay...HE always guides in the right direction. I hope they are following His lead :-) I will update as soon as I know more and, once again, thank you!!!! Such small words, but I trust that you can feel my heart in them!
I hadn't planned on posting, before I had something definitive to report...until I was reminded of the power of prayer. Over the course of the last 18 hours, I've prayed and cried myself into an empty vessel condition. Now it's time to call in for reinforcements!
Yesterday afternoon, while my 7 year old was playing outside with our puppy, Gretel (pup) ran into the street and got hit by a car...which never bothered to stop. I'll spare you all the heartwrenching details, although the tape keeps playing & playing & playing, in my head. Gretel is alive...I should have started with that. She is very seriously injured, though (pelvis broken in several places, broken hind leg, serious concussion) and will need surgery. They stabilized her, overnight, at the emergency clinic, then we were back to our regular vet first thing this morning. She was alert and SO happy to see us when I picked her up. The surgeon will evaluate her this afternoon. That covers my fluffy baby's medical condition.
What weighs as/more heavily on my heart is my daughter's emotional state. She is, obviously, haunted by the images/ sounds of the car...she blames herself...and she's negotiating fiercely, with God, about leaving Gretel with us (she asked that He count the number of puppies He already has and reminded him that we only have one). The vet bills are already through the roof and will surely climb higher. As much as I hate that reality, as a single mom it is my reality. The best case scenario: the surgery will be fairly simple and Gretel will fully recuperate. The not-so-good scenario: she will live with chronic pain & have limited mobility. It then becomes a quality of life issue. I hate the way that sounds/ looks..."quality of life"...who am I to determine (for another living being) how good or how challenging their life "should" be?
Oh, my brain and heart are so muddled right now. I'm trying to juggle what's best for my Gretel, for my daughter and for our family as a whole. Rarely do I have moments where I am so uncomfortable doing all of this "alone", but this sure is one of those moments.
***I didn't include a picture of my son with Gretel because...well, he isn't terribly fond of her, so we don't have any :-(
Sometimes you hit upon a project idea where everything clicks...and sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, you just lay an egg :-) The collages I worked on yesterday, while I was home with my son, came out rather nicely. The eggs, which I have been working on for a week...not so much! The problem with the eggs, I think, is I should have stopped while I was ahead. With each step, they just didn't seem right...so I kept adding different elements. Now, as my son pointed out, they look like rotten eggs with warts on the ends. I put so much work into them, however, that I am still displaying them on my fireplace mantle...until I am fully prepared to admit defeat.
These pictures are particularly off, as I'm rushing to get ready to play nursemaid this morning, then am off to the shop for the afternoon!
It was another beautiful, if not terribly warm, early spring day in Connecticut. My son was home with a touch of the stomach bug (which I narrowly escaped...I HOPE), so I was able to get some yard work done. I also spruced up my new patio a bit. I'm so eager to get flowers planted, but they're calling for frost on Thursday, so my patience will have to stretch a bit further. I made two bench pillows, using body pillows that we no longer use. They're not quite big enough, so I'll have to pick up a third. I had a huge amount of the brown fabric, from my friend Melody's shop. When I got it, I had no idea what I would use it for, as it doesn't match anything in my home...outside is an entirely different story. It goes perfectly with the stain on the patio and the planters I picked up at the dollar store. There is, apparently, a method to my madness...even when I'm not aware of it! Now, if I can just get some flowers planted. What was it I mentioned about patience??? Almost forgot: I was given buckets of those cool wrought iron pieces, on the back of the bench. They were left over from a job a contractor friend was working on. He figured I could put them to good use, so he saved them from dumpster doom. Initially, I was going to try to remove the rust, but decided I rather like the aged look. I stuck them on with a little Gorilla Glue...I love the unique touch they give the bench!
It's amazing, to me, how people's talents are expressed so differently. I had a bunch of (scrap) pressure treated wood stacked next to my garage, a dozen or so slat squares and a good friend who is extremely handy in all of the areas I am not. With the help of my two children, my friend, John, built me a patio with a ten foot bench...all in 4 hours! He also used some "left-over" flagstone to create a pretty, winding walkway around to the front of the house. To say that I'm amazed and so thankful is an understatement. Now, I'm "doing my thing" and making seat cushions out of two old body pillows we don't use and some fabric I bought at my friend, Melanie's, shop. This piece of fabric was really big, matched nothing in my home, but I just knew I'd someday put it to good use :-) Pictures of my handiwork will follow!
As difficult as it will be, I promise to exercise restraint when it comes to inundating my blog with pictures of the new baby. I have to remind myself that 1.) I am not the Grandma of baby Lyrik and 2.) people will only tolerate having to "Ohhhhhhh" and "Ahhhhhhhh" over baby pictures for just so long. I promised Jessica (the new Mom), however, that I would post these updates to show how much he's changed in 36 hours (no more blue, bruised face and his nose is starting to pop into shape). Did I mention that I get to spend the day with them tomorrow because the "real" Grandma has to work?
