Farewell for Now

Mother's 90th birthday party with my mother-in-law's help

Well, I think I may have come to the end of my blogging days; for a while anyway.  I began blogging a decade ago as an outlet when I was taking care of my mother.  She had just begun what I would come to think of as the long final decline a few months after her 90th birthday.  As an only child, it was a lonely time: no one really trains you for caring for the people who cared for you.   It's scary, frankly: to have a human's life in your hands like that.  It's different in so many ways from parenting a child, and that's got its own fears of course, as I learned so clearly.  Blogging about all of that helped me.  I hoped it would help others as well.

My dog blog however was supposed to be a celebration of life with pets.  A happy story of furry adventures in this city I love so much.  Of course life doesn't follow a script, so events took us down another road.  One that limits our adventures.  So I've literally run out of things to write about.  Therefore, with some irony, it's being in the position of a caregiver again that ends the run for now.

I'll explain what brought us here.  A couple of weeks ago come tomorrow my mother-in-law fell.  Again.  She suffers from neuropathy in her feet and legs, which is - as the name suggests - a nerve disorder that causes her constant pain.  Of course, it also makes her unsteady, and if she attempts to walk without the aid of her walker, down she's likely to go.  In the months she's been here, she's fallen a few times.  Sometimes she hurts no more than her pride.  Sometimes she's not as lucky.  Two weeks ago she broke her humerus bone and dislocated her shoulder trying to break a fall as she was leaving her bedroom. 

Queue our first ambulance call since moving here.  Undoubtedly, it will not be the last.  But of course, the reality of caring for someone is that as she goes, so goes the household.  It's been a stressful time.  She's in a lot of pain from extra places now.  Already not able to leave her, my husband is even more restricted.  I've been no help at all, partly because she's resistant to my helping, but also because I've been working through my own health issues.  A lifelong migraine sufferer, I've been battling a series of them as winter teases us by coming and going.  Safe to say, 2019 has not been the best of times so far.

While this takes its toll on the humans, it's not the best for the dogs either.  Yet, I'm not the least surprised to say that the dogs have handled everything - all this palatable stress - like the angels that they are.  Sirius is admittedly being a bit of a brat today because he wants to play in the snow, but the bitter cold is dangerous for long periods, so we've had to ration him, and he's not happy about it.  Otherwise, they've been constant and patient companions, happy to be by our side and not complaining about their restricted lot in life.  I am often reminded of the Dog Owner's Prayer:

I might change it a bit to be: Please let be me half as good as my dog is.

But, while all of this sounds self-pitying, I'm pretty well aware that we are still so much more fortunate than many, and while this is not what I would have liked for us at this point in our lives, I try to remember what's in the glass, not what's not.  Some days I do better at that than others.   Yet, even on the best of days, I also can't think of much new or original to write about lately, and that's just the reality of the situation.  The dogs' are living an altogether unremarkable life at the moment.

I hope that won't always be that way, and when it changes, I'll take it up again.  There is a lot to do and see as a dog lover in and around Pittsburgh, after all!

Until then, be safe and well.  And hug your dogs.