Everything is still at a complete standstill, as local authorities puzzle over that odd, frozen substance coating everything. Could it perhaps be resolved with a judicious application of... grits? Alas, it cannot. (The husband and I are enjoying endless jokes about how this storm wouldn't have even merited a one-hour school delay up in New England, yet here it's on its way to a week-long shutdown.) I am weary and overwhelmed and some decisions have been made but the bottom line is that I am perversely grateful for this break from reality for a few days. It's easier to blame these feelings of...
It's no secret that I'm completely smitten with the dog. I adore her. Yes, I have become one of those people who basically treats the dog like a third child, albeit a child who never grows up and is a bit "special." (Hey, neither of the kids I gave birth to lose their fool minds whenever the UPS guy comes up the driveway, is all I'm sayin'.) Also it's very, very rare for me to make the human children eat kibble out of a bowl on the floor. So there's differences, of course. Yes, in the world of blended families, Licorice is Otto's and my lovechild. (We love each other SO MUCH, we produced a...
Christmas has already been completely ruined, and we still have five days before the actual holiday, so I'm thinking this is some sort of truly awesome record for Maximum Suck. The Plan was that the kids' dad would pick them up on Saturday to fly north; Otto and the dog and I were to follow the next day, driving up to my folks in New York; the kids would spend a week with their dad, we would work our way Boston-ward for Christmas, and then on Christmas Day we'd get the kids back, they'd have time to see the New England relatives, and we'd head back through my folks' place again on our way...
Feeling down? Stressed? Beset by flu and stupidity? Suffering from the heartbreak of psoriasis did-you-know-your-kid-is-autistic-itis? It may be time to take two pictures of a long-suffering little dog and apply directly to the eyeballs! (Fluffy puppy... apply to your eyesockets for immediate relief!) Happy Love Thursday, everyone---here's to whatever cheers you up in the midst of stress. (Sorry, Licorice. Extra rawhide for you!)
After nearly a week with everyone at home, it was with many yawns and heavy hearts that most of the family headed back to work and school today. I was sorry to see them go; this was, for me, one of our best holiday breaks ever. We didn't do anything. Seriously, it was a festival of sloth and all-day pajamas, most of the time. I was working through it, but that was fine. The kids relaxed. Monkey unwound a little. Chickadee worked on various school projects and slept late and chatted with her friends online. There was pie for breakfast, several times. For a few days I forgot that I was...
While I am busy grumbling that my dad and stepmom are here for such a short time and I still have to work and go here and there, they are perfectly content to amuse themselves and dote upon the dog. Licorice is clearly not enjoying herself in the slightest. I mean, sure, she normally spends the entire day sleeping under that futon and now she follows my parents around and jumps up to sit beside them and demand petting at every possible opportunity, but really, she's suffering on the inside. As are they. Obviously.
Allow me to preface the following, for my fellow worry-warts, with this: Licorice is fine. Thank goodness. Some of you who've been around a long time may recall that when we first met Licorice a year ago, she had quite a few health concerns. For one thing, she was half-bald (as in, her entire butt and a good portion of her legs were naked), and what had originally been thought to be mange turned out to be allergies, but even so, we were warned that she might never regrow her fur. She also had chronic ear infections, although thought to be a side effect of allergies and general neglect. I...
