#grateful

This is what can happen when somebody drinks too much at a nightclub, insults a man's girlfriend with some very colorful words and descriptive phrases, and gets the shit beat out of him when his wingmen disappear. Not pictured: arm cast stabling both forearm bones pre-surgical repair as a result of angry boyfriend putting his pointed cowboy boot through left arm while in a fetal position after initial assault. This was the formative life event for me. It steered me away from #alcohol which was a blessing given the #alcoholism present in both sides of my parental lineage. It cost me some friends, and a year of doctor visits including reasonably complicated arm #surgery. Twice. While viewing this photo certainly evokes memories of the physical pain and sense of abandonment associated with that night and the aftermath, I am also #grateful that I was able to use those memories to change my friendship circle, refocus on finishing college, and avoid the inevitable (for me) pitfalls of alcohol. I now look at this photo now and smile as this straightened me out in a way nothing else could. And no DUI or manslaughter charge (which would have happened had I found the assailant). (and yes, I still regret the mustache and haircut) #photo #fight #barfight #gratitude

This little girlie is slowing down. Trixie turned 14 at the end of May. She has surpassed in her longevity all of all our wildest expectations; this is the dog who had major surgery for bladder stones in 2019. She has been on some form of prescription food since then. Porter was pretty sure she wouldn’t last long after her left for his first year of college, and here we just sent off his proof of rental insurance for his apartment for his third year of college. I know Porter wanted to stay in Athens this summer. But I am glad he and this girl have had each other. She is his dog. She arrived to our household just when Porter needed her, in 5th grade. He desperately wanted a dog to cuddle and Abby refused to stay in his room at night with him. Trixie entered Porter’s life after his autism diagnosis and his IEP were in place, but before the astoundingly kind, fiercely loyal friend group he found for himself in middle school. We were pretty sure we were sending Trixie off to the great rainbow bridge on Monday: she had terrible diarrhea and was breathing super fast. We all said our goodbyes before Jared and Porter swept her off to the vet, just not knowing. At 14, with a grade 4 heart murmur, you never know. But, she had a fever, and antibiotics, probiotics, a canned food later, no more diarrhea and we presume no fever. She isn’t eating much. Jared finally got her to eat some low sodium canned salmon last night, just to see if she’d eat anything. Tonight he managed to get her to eat a little of her prescription canned food with some salmon mixed in, but not much. Which brought me to realize: Abby and Trixie are 13 and 14 years old. We have been buying $100 bags of dog food since 2019….. maybe, just maybe, that gave them a higher quality of life. And being used to super low sodium means we can’t inundate their systems with off the shelf Alpo or Pedigree cans now, either. But there is a world in between, and maybe these girls have earned some yumminess beyond their normal small daily blueberry handful. Maybe worrying about getting just the right prescription food is beside the point anymore. We love our girls. This part is hard, though.