Mindful March!

[papmom3]

I can't really post-in too much pain. I lost my LM (Guinness) today to chronic renal failure. I'm totally shattered and can't stop crying.

[Lavande]

Aw Papmom - I am sorry :hug:
You know you did everything possible for him, much more than most people would have I'm sure.
He knew he was loved & well cared for I'm sure.
Take care, we will all keep you in our hearts & thoughts.

Lav

[Lizann]

Aww pap mom, I am so sorry for you. They are ur family, aren't they? Sending hugs your way!
Quiet Friday night for me, and I'm glad. Have a good night all.

[dill]

Aw Papmom, :hug: I understand your pain and wish I could lighten it. You were a good Papmom and and LM was loved and cherished and he knew it. I do wish dogs had longer time on this earth. I know the joy he brought you.

Granddaughter and grandson are here. Early Riser is already up and asking me questions! I'll check in again later.

[bear73]

papmom:hug:
Our furry friends are part of our family,your LM was lucky to be so loved,and would've known that.Thinking of you and take care.

Day 48 here - dinner at friends last night,with whom i usually drink too much - used medication as excuse and i drove.She started saying she drinks too much and wants to cut down. Plan to see lot more of her now that I have no rollerderby commitments,walks and bike rides.
Off to do assignment in a mo,popping into party later for an hour or so and night in with OH.Got Monday off so plan to have done by end of Sunday and chill out on Monday,exercise and do a bit of planning of house,decorating,declutter and cleaning.May get a cleaning company in to do blitz clean post declutter.
Happy Saturday everyone

[Guitarista]

Hi all,

Sorry to hear of your loss Papmom. It is devastating when we lose a pet. Take care of yourself. G :hug:

[Lavande]

Good morning friends on this very chilly Saturday morning!

Papmom, thinking of you :hug:

Hello to Lizann, bear & G - nice to see all of you.

Dill, I am about to go pick up my youngest grandson so he can spend the day here & overnight as well.
You asked about my DIL - she works with children (and to some extent their parents). I think she's mostly involved in helping to develop IEPs. She travels mostly to schools.

Greetings to Cyn & Star!
The full moon has caused interrupted sleep the past two nights Cyn, ha ha!!

Have a great AF Saturday everyone!

Lav

[dill]

Morning All,

“The day I understood everything, was the day I stopped trying to figure everything out. The day I knew peace was the day I let everything go.”
― C. JoyBell C.

Lav, perhaps if we lived closer I would have worked with your DIL at some point! LOL! I knew a few LSW's in my work years. In fact, my gson worked with one at school and she was so very helpful to him. I always appreciated everything she did. Good for you DIL choosing a career helping people.

Bear, Good idea to develop more time with a fellow traveler, meaning your friend who thinks she needs to cut back on al. Maybe you can influence her to let it go altogether. I still marvel at the hold the substance has on many people even after it has proven its destructive nature in their lives. Lord knows, I am one of the many. I don't care how much I read about the brain and the addiction path, I still can't grasp it quite. There are a lot of things in life like that and that is where simple acceptance plays its part. Acceptance and surrender.

Lizann, did you take that photograph of the Eiffel Tower?

Hello Cyn and Star.

Papmom, healing thoughts and prayers being sent your way. Will you bury LM or cremate? We have a tree out by our pond where we have buried our dear dogs that died while we lived here. I think of them each time I pass it.

Mr. G. It's been a while since you stopped by. Nice to see you.

Today is the day we embark on our trip, but things are now up in the air. Our son has been back in hospital and we have had the kids. If he doesn't get released today our trip will be postponed. I can live with that. First things first.

[papmom3]

Morning all. Still very sad and will have crying jags but trying to get used to the new normal. The remaining boyz had a spa day yesterday and I treated myself to lunch at D'Angelos (best choice in the area unfortunately). I didn't have the chips tho-yay me! I did eat 2 pints of Ben and Jerry's Friday and last nite tho. The addictions never really leave us do they?
Welcome Lizanne. Are you here in the US?
Keep up the good work Bear-you've started at day 0 so many times-are you ready to never go back there again? You deserve the life being AF can give you. So, no more roller derby? Is that good or bad? I'm proud of you for the choices you've been making this past month! :thumbsup: We are here to support you!
Dill-its illegal in my city to bury animals in your yard so they are all cremated. I'll be picking out a nice urn soon-didn't like the choices the vet gave me. I may also do either a shadow box of his things or buy a pretty butterfly box to keep them in-something that can be displayed prominently.
Lav-you got hit bad with the storm this week! Hope you are all shoveled out by now and roads are safe to travel. I'm looking at a rescue dog in your state-not sure whereabout tho and not sure I'm all that serious right now. He's a young, large pap mix who is a good agility prospect. I would be a good home for him I think but need to know more about him. can't deal with another reactive dog.
Cyn-so sorry your girl is in discomfort but how great that the homeopathic treatments relieve it! I didn't have any luck with that with LM or with DD (for his fear) but plenty of people do so I'm happy for you.
Dill-did your barn pipe get fixed? How is your son doing? Any idea when you'll leave for NO?
Star-hope all is well with you. Are you visiting with daugher and GK this weekend? Still loving your house and new city?
No plans for today. Should probably clean and defiinitely do laundry. Its gray and cold and the walks and roads still have ice and huge snowbanks. Getting cabin fever. Went to Best Buy yesterday to check out new laptops-almost went to the mall but went home instead. Feeling restless.

[papmom3]

G-thank you so much for stopping by and your kind words. Hope all is well with you. Hugs.

[Lavande]

Good afternoon friends

I had to get moving this morning to get my grandson dropped off for Sunday school. He was absolutely charming yesterday & slept great all night. yay! I hope he understands that this is exactly how he needs to behave if he wants to continue having overnights here, ha ha!

Dill, I'm sorry your son is sick again. Is it the same thing going on?
If you have to delay your trip at least it's for a good reason & not something stupid like a snowstorm.
My DIL was looking to get into a nursing program when I first met her. I talked her out of it, I really couldn't see her coping with all that. I am glad she settled into social work - it's a good fit for her. Not as much money but she will be happier in the long run. My daughter is in a physial therapy assistant program now. She wants to help people too but not get involved with all the personal care that nursing requires. I think she is going to love her new profession. I hope everything works out best for you & your family!

Papmom, it hit 48 degrees today! Snow is melting, yay!
It's going to take a while to get rid of all of it but you have to strat somewhere, right? Some of the roads are flooding over alreday. This is going to be one heck of a mud season as I'm sure it will be for you as well.
I waited a good six months on more after Girl dog passed away before I brought Matilda home. I think you need to give yourself time to grieve when you lose a friend. i'm glad to hear the rest of your crew got some TLC yesterday I hope you get a touch of this warm weather very soon!

Hello to Cyn & Star!
Hello to everyone stopping by today.

Have a great sunday evening!
Lav

[SnoopyC]

Good morning...

Pap, so sorry to hear about your LM, you gave everything you had to keep her comfortable. My deepest sympathies.

Lav, Dill, Cyn, Lizann, and Bear, hello and have a good Monday. I woke up late so have to go. More time tomorrow.

[bear73]

hey everyone,quick whizz in,day off,just been to step class that totally kicked my arse,want to get back into it again though as I used to be able to do it a lot easier and want to get back to that point.
Apart from that much needed shower, final edits and finishing touches on assignment,maybe a nap,laundry and seeing a friend for dinner.
Happy Monday everyone.

[treegirl]

Good Monday morning all -

Pap - SO SORRY about your loss of LM. What a hero he was, and what an incredible pet parent you were to him - you went way above and beyond, and he felt the love, no doubt about it. I'm thinking of him on the Rainbow bridge, and sending you solace - this is such a hard time.

Star - I thought of you this morning; it's always so hard to adjust to that lack of one hour! Hope you got some rest this weekend.

Dill - gosh, sorry about your son being sick again, darn. Here's hoping that he gets better soon. Will you re-schedule your trip, (if you're not already on your way...) Thanks for that last quote - that's a keeper. Yes, as the Buddhists say, it's all about walking away from attachment - the thing that brings the suffering. Great reminder!

Lav - in the back of my mind has always been nursing as a career (I tested high for it on all the career tests). But I have so little patience with allopathic medicine that I always knew a regular nursing path would not be for me. Lately I have been thinking about training as a Hospice nurse; the head of Hospice in this area is a neighbor, so at some point I'll talk to her - here they are part of the VNA. At the local Ambulance breakfast (fundraiser) recently I talked to one of the people about being trained as an EM assistant - it's all volunteer squads around here. We'll see...

Bear - great job - keep on! I can tell you the AF life of long-term freedom is like being let out of prison - keep on keeping on, nothing else is worth this prize.

Lizann - great to see you here. G! - What a wonderful surprise to hear from you, thanks for dropping by.

Sorry I was off the thread for 2 days; Saturday drove into the city for a daytime 'date' (HB's idea, not mine!) We did have a good time wandering in China Town, Little Italy, and the lower East Side (through the snowy slush). But the drive down and back, and stomping cement streets was tough on me. We got home, I fed the dogs and went to bed. Sunday was a day-long episode with Girl dog again. This time I shot video to show the vet...part of it is anxiety-related, I'm sure, and the rest is just really mysterious. I think I'll look into acupuncture for her and see if it helps - or maybe a dog communicator - who knows?! Just hate to see her in such distress for hours on end - the GI pain reliever and anti-inflammatories don't touch it, so we'll just keep a watch on her.

Being up in the night, or early morning, has been a great way to greet this moon each day. Even with temps in the 20s, things are melting here - I pulled big sheets of ice off of the roof yesterday! Spring is definitely coming...

To the Light -

[Lavande]

Greetings friends!

I had my day all planned out! First haircut at 9:30 then pick up my grandson at 10 & bring him back here for the day. Just as I was pulling out of the driveway my DIL texted me to say she ancelled her morning appointments & will drop him off instead at 2 pm. I went ahead & got my hair cut then went food shopping. Totally should have squeezed in a trip to Curves but I wasn't dressed for that, ha ha!!

Star, I think we probably all woke up a little late this morning - hope your day is good.

bear, I hope you stay as happy as you are right now - it looks good on you

Cyn, I hope you catch up on some much needed rest today after your busy weekend.
I always smile when people say 'I always wanted to be a nurse'. I always respond with 'it's not what you think it is'
It is a physically & emotionally demanding job that requires great team work. When one person doesn't show up or shows up in a crappy mood or something the whole team concept goes to hell. Patients & their families can be downright mean & demanding.. They don't care that you pushed yourself to get to work after being up all night with a violently ill child at home, etc. They also don't care that you risked life & limb just to get to work in a major snowstorm or that you are exposed to killer germs & handle nasty chemicals all day :sad: I have always steered people away. You can take the classes needed to train as an EMT at your local community college. My son did that way back when he first started as a volunteer fire fighter. Just remember that you will be exposed to blood & bodily fluids when responding to accident scenes. You need to be physically able to do a good deal of lifting too (think of picking people up & putting them on stretchers). Not an easy job!!!
I hope your doggie improves soon, I hate when they are sick.

Dill, hope you are on the way to NO!

Papmom, check in when you an please.

Have a great AF afternoon everyone!

Lav