Gratitude Friday

1. Eric taking the dogs hiking at Mount Margaret. I would have rather gone with them than gone to work, but I’m glad they got to go.

2. My interns. I had my last meeting with them yesterday. They set the bar high for the ones that will come after them, not just because they did good work, but were smart, creative, friendly, and funny — my favorite kind of people.

3. My peonies coming back strong. They did so well, I’m going to plant more — many many more.

4. A new blog design template and updated header. The old header had images of Dexter and none of Ringo, so it was time for a new one, and once I did that, it seemed like a shame to not keep going and pick a new design, freshen things up a bit. I’m also considering a sabbatical while we are on vacation in Oregon. I haven’t taken a break from blogging since September 2011, and it might be time.

5. Yoga teacher training. We did our “karma bowl” challenge on Saturday and went to the Eldora Mountain Yoga Ashram together last Sunday. I had a few personal epiphanies and felt a real deepening and clarity.

Bonus joy: Ringo on the bed under my writing desk. Someday, he will grow up, stop chewing and eating and destroying and biting, be trustworthy, easier, not need so much supervision. Hopefully he’ll live that way for a long, long time.

1. Sick days. Eric had a bad cold last week and I thought I was going to luck out and skip it, but no. I was out sick most of the week, still don’t feel 100%. I am so grateful I’m given sick days, can use them when I need to, can stay home in my pjs and get paid for it.

2. Spring weather. I know I’m repeating myself, but I have a deep down need right now for dryness, warmth, and blue skies.

Sam likes it too, was out rolling in the grass this morning.

3. Sweet Sam. There was a big shift this week. We cancelled the MRI and visited our regular vet instead (all the while consulting with the neurologist, who is amazing, assured us she’d do the same if it were her dog). We are revisiting the idea that Sam’s issue is with the skin/tissue of his lower lip, rather than a nerve issue caused by an injury or even tumor like we were thinking. We are starting off treating it as if it were a fungal issue, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll consult with Dermatology at the CSU Vet Hospital and keep trying, keep looking.

The closer the MRI got, the more we realized the actual center of Sam’s discomfort was his lower lip, both sides, an area that in the past few years has lost its pigment, turned from black to pink, and sometimes looks inflamed and is very tender to the touch. I am so thankful that whatever this is hasn’t interfered with his ability to eat and the discomfort, while it can make his back leg thump and head shake and cause the occasional whimper, hasn’t led to him actually scratching his face or hurting himself in any other way.

We are applying a topical treatment right now and I don’t want to get my hopes up, but he seems the slightest bit more comfortable already. You have no idea, kind and gentle reader, how wonderful it would be if we could help him feel better, if he could return to the full and healthy life of a four year old dog who has a puppy he can play with whenever and however much he wants. This has been a mystery for at least the past year, and he shouldn’t have to keep suffering, won’t if I can do anything about it.

4. Ringo. He is challenging me, forcing me to get so smart and work so hard, but if this little dude grows up to be as good as he is cute, it will all be worth it.