So, this morning I received an e mail from my mother. I sent her a couple of them in the last week, pointing out good plane tickets so she could come and see me for Spring Break.
This is our dog, Julie. Isn't she cute? She turned 13 last August. She's the happiest, sweetest dog in the world. Mostly, she wants to have your undivided attention, go for walks in Rabbit Hash, eat whatever you're having, and get to be near babies and small children at all times. (She also likes to sleep in beds, but don't tell Mom that Julie knows what that even means. Hi Mom! Shh! You didn't see that.)
And I'm breaking this up into paragraphs because I imagine your eyes are as lazy with long paragraphs and computer screens as mine are.
Julie has not been well. She has been to the vet 3 times. She is vomiting after even a tablespoon of food. Although today she did not vomit yet. She is on tagamet and malox. She has had a shot, xrays and an upper GI series. They do not see cancer, a foreign object, or any growths in her digestive system.
She is on a bland diet, which we have to cook and liquidfy. [The stepfather] went the last 2 times to the vet with me. I think he thought he had to look our for Julie's interest.
I am afraid to leave or book a flight until she can eat without me hand feeding. [Stepfather's sister/Mom's best friend] will watch her, but I am not going to send her if she is vomiting. I thought about asking Stepfather to take care of Julie and I could go, but I am afraid he would think that pretty selfish.
I have today and Monday off to be her full time duty nurse. Yes, she will have plenty of medicine etc. poor julie. I should have a prognosis of Julie by Monday pm. love mom
I managed to wait three whole hours, while weeping at my desk, to call Mom and get the dirt on my puppy.
Mary: How's Julie?
Mom: She's getting better.
Mary: Good.
Mom: I really think she's going to be fine. She's kept her spirit the whole time, wagging her tail and running around.
Mary: I'm glad to hear that.
Mom: There was one day, last Sunday, she was pretty listless, and I was worried then, but now she's getting better.
Mary: Good.
Mom: She hates her Maalox. She'll come over even when she can see the bottle, but once she spots the spoon, she is not happy. When she sees that spoon, she clenches those teeth right up. She's gotten so she'll take her pills pretty nice for me, but she doesn't want to see that spoon.
Mary: She's so good. And clever.
Mom: She really is a good dog. I think it's promising that she has it in her to be onery about that spoon. I'm going to try to buy a children's medicine spoon. I think that'll be easier for her.
Mary: That makes sense. It's a good idea.
Mom: I won't want to leave her though if she's still getting sick like that.
Mary: Those prices don't change much until two weeks before the flight.
Mom: Oh good. That's wonderful. [Stepfather] thought you might not want us in Phoenix.
Mary: What?
Mom: He kept telling me not to invite myself, that maybe you didn't want me to come and visit.
Mary: That's nonsense! I have a futon!
Mom: I thought it was too, but he kept telling me to wait for an invitation.
Mary: You're my mom! I have a futon and everything! Of course I want you to visit me!
Mom: That's what I thought, but now I'll tell him we're invited. How are you?
Mary: I'm fine.
Mom: Work's still good?
Mary: Yeah, it's going well. Everything's fine. [Steady]'s fine, work's fine, the cat's fine. It's all very normal and boring and just fine.
Mom: I'm glad to hear everything's going well. You deserve a good year. Maybe this will finally be the year when good things happen for you.
Mary: Thanks.
Mom: Oh God, I hope I didn't just jinx you!
Mary: Who knows, maybe this will finally be my year.
Mom: You're way past due for a good one. It's been awhile. You just have the worst luck. It's really amazing
Mary: I basically have had five bad years in a row... if this one doesn't work out, though, it'll be all your fault for jinxing me.
The Fine Print:
Tired of coming here and not finding anything new? Insert empty promise about updating more often here. Let me recommend that you learn to use Bloglines.
2004: A cute entry about baking cookies with Ellie.
2003: A guest entry from Jeff due to the ice storm.
2002: I was a bad kid fighting with my mom like that.
Did you go help out? Did you make a mental note to ask other people to help out? It's an interesting study that could really benefit the non-profit sector, but this is the internet where things only work if you help them along.
This is our dog, Julie. Isn't she cute? She turned 13 last August. She's the happiest, sweetest dog in the world. Mostly, she wants to have your undivided attention, go for walks in Rabbit Hash, eat whatever you're having, and get to be near babies and small children at all times. (She also likes to sleep in beds, but don't tell Mom that Julie knows what that even means. Hi Mom! Shh! You didn't see that.)