We'll miss you Olie

My beloved Olie passed away early this morning. He had been battling something but couldn't figure out what. My mom and I had first adopted him 10 years ago, he was about 3 at the time. He gave us many years of happiness and we will really miss him.

He was pretty smart, could sit and lay down and turn around. Sometimes he would run through all 3 without us telling him so he could get a treat. He was referred to as the "rasta" dog because he was so easy going. We think he had some sort of brain tumor. For the past month he was getting progressively weaker. Last night, all he wanted to do was go into a corner. I knew he was not comfortable, but he would not come to me. I prayed asking God to take him quickly so he doesn't suffer. If he ended up making it through the night, I would have made the decision to put him to sleep anyway-I didn't want Olie to suffer anymore. He did so much for us, the least we could do is let him go with dignity.

As it stands, he went on his own terms. I did not have to make the decision to put him down, and he was at home with us and not in some cold Vet's office with people he did not know poking and prodding him.

He is at peace now, playing with his sister Minute, his Uncle Peanut, and cousins Scrunchie, Poobah and all the other beloved pets who have left.

When he comes back home, he will sit right next to Minute, so they will remain together in our house.

It's quiet in the house now. Even with Lappy. I know he misses Olie even though he used to harrass him But he was just a young dog trying to get the old man to play.

I don't know if Hayden has been asking for Olie. When he does, we will just tell him that he went on a trip. Thankfully he's only 2 and has other things to keep his mind busy.

We love you Olie, and we miss you lots.

Whew!

The spots were just spots, so no cancer! Mom was tested for the BRAC gene which is the breast cancer gene, and she tested negative! Yeah! At least we know that it is not genetic, but as the doctor said, cancer has no rules. So now we just have to be diligent in our check-up's.

On another note we (meaning me and my husband) to cancel our cable TV subscription and go without it for a while. TV seems to be a slow acting poison that is the cause of a lot of things not getting done in our household. Dishes, sleep etc. Even Hayden is already conditioned to watching TV. So now we will stick with DVD's, and maybe even try other things, like READING! I have not read a book in so long. I am working on my crocheting, and would like to expand my knitting to things other than scarves and dish cloths. Even Hayden will have to use his imagination, and as parents we will definately be more engaging. Now our Saturday mornings will be spent doing something else besides watching TV while eating breakfast for 2 hours. We won't be totally without cable in our lives-both are parents have it, so if we need a fix, we can just go over there.

So at the end of the month-we will say good-bye to cable. This will put an additional $80 in our pocket, we may even use that to join the YMCA. That way Doug and I can work out and Hayden can be in kid watch, and take swim lessons.

Mom wants a tattoo?!

So I am prepping for some outpatient surgery tomorrow. I am having the rest of the "spots" on my right side removed as there is still a chance that they could be or turn into cancer. Everything will be done under local, but I will still be asleep-so I won't know what's going on.

I have 2 tats which coincide with some major surgery that my mom went through, first the triple bypass and then the mastectomy. So now I am thinking that I should get another one in conjunction with my surgery. I had a dream a couple of weeks ago that I tattooed a couple of small pink ribbons on my boob and when I went to the doctor for my follow-up he told me that I would have to have surgery-and I said "Crap! why did I do that? Now they may have to cut through them!". Silly, I know. But my brain scares me sometimes.

So I am discussing my latest tat idea with my mom (who dislikes them really, but likes the latest one), and asks if it's painful. I said, that it depends on where you get it done-I almost fell asleep when they did the one on my lower back. She had her eyebrows and eyeliner tattooed on-I asked her if that hurt. Then I asked her if she wanted one-and she said that she was thinking about a small pink ribbon on her mastetomy side...WHAT?!? You want a tattoo??? WTF? Who are you and what did you do with my mother? Totally blew me away, but I also thought it was cool.

So I am trying to relax-this procedure has been done a thousand times, and I have a really good team. I still think I could use a Xanax right now.

So tomorrow, when I am done, I will be a litttle lopsided. Oh well, it could be worse.

The result of all this is that me, who was once a pink hater (still am really) am gravitating to things that are pink-but those that are connected with the breast cancer stuff-so not like I'm doing pink wardrobe or anything. Now the color pink has a different meaning for me.