Lexy

What you see in the attached photo is a dog. More specifically a Golden Retriever. One might say she’s a cute dog, or even a pretty dog. Then again, one might not even know she’s a she. Like most dogs, she’s warm, lovable, and fills the role as a “Family Dog.” What you can’t see in this picture is all the happiness, joy, and good laughs she has brought to our family.

Her American Kennel Club registration papers identify her as “Tyler’s Little Shadow Princess Lexy.” We call her Lexy, Lex, Roo, Slider, Ruby Red, and a bunch of other names. She was born in Oklahoma on a farm. One of eight pups, her personality from the start even amused the family she started her life with. When we first met Lexy, we knew we wanted a female pup, but we had the choice of several female pups. Lexy seemed to seek us out. Of her siblings, she was the most aggressive, but immediately won us all over. The vote to pick her was unanimous.

Lexy was not to be the only family dog when we got her, and she had to earn the love of another family dog, a golden like her, named Tyler. It was almost two years, before he become fond of his pesky little sister. What makes Lexy special is all the joy and happiness, and many good laughs she brings to us , to include a very difficult time for our family. We had moved to Oklahoma, leaving all of our family behind in New Jersey, including my father who was terminally ill. None of us were happy, and laughs were hard to find. No matter how hard we all tried, getting settled in our new home, schools, and jobs, was not easy.

None of us would have expected that a tiny puppy would be able to fill our lives with such big laughs. From the start her curiosity in learning her new world always seemed to lead to new adventures for her, and the occasional chuckle from us. It seemed she provided us with something to focus on rather than on what we were missing on back in New Jersey. As time passed, we were able to get back closer to home, and our family. Lexy came into our lives at a time when we needed a bit more happiness, and a few more laughs. If a doctor were to order the perfect pill to cure our blues, Lexy would have been the magic pill.

It's been almost 7 years since Lexy's adoption into our family and we couldn't love her more. She lost her brother Tyler, but has since become the older sister of Luke. This is another whole posting! To this day, she is still a source of amusement to us all, and has not yet lost any of her puppy playfulness or curiosity about her world, and we are grateful.

I Need Spring!

"Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; he will not see me stopping here. To watch his woods fill up with snow." ~ Robert Frost

I wanted snow. I had to have it. Now I have gotten more than I need. I’m now in ‘want’ of warmth, new growth, and spring flora. What is it about snow? Why is it some of us crave that white stuff that only really causes nuisance? I have always loves snow, but the older I get the less I seem to crave it each winter. I hate showing my age.

The truth is I yearn for the days when I can stay out without the cold inducing pain. I also like playing in the dirt, and you can’t do much of that when the ground is frozen solid. I also have lots planned for my yard this year, and cannot wait to get started. Perhaps I simply cannot sit still, and snow has nothing to do with it?

Hurry Spring.

Life Goes On ( It does! )

It’s February 24, 2005 and life is better!

As noted in this entry, http://nitensnook.blogspot.com/2005/01/journaling-and-blogging.html, life was pretty shitty here. Well as life happens, things change and my husband now has a new job, and we are back on track. He still has the cancer, but that too will be taken care of, and shortly.

So my worries were short lived, again. I am a worrier. I have always been one of those people who has the need to thrive on fretting. I can take the simplest life event and make it a major stressor. I know I do. I can’t help it though. I think it has something to do with my liking to be in control of things. Once life takes that from me, I fall to pieces. Then I stress everyone within a ten-mile radius with my anxieties. Then when things work out, I worry about why I worried to begin with. It’s a vicious, vicious cycle.

So the new job starts soon, and once again it’s the same job, doing the same thing, but only with a different company. Kind of like nursing. The environment might change, but the nursing care remains the same. I hope things start out well and stay constant. Status quo is a good thing. Now all I need is something new to worry about. I’m sure by noon today; I’ll have something to contemplate about. I can’t imagine me in a stress free day. Ever.

"Stress is an ignorant state. It believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that important. " ~ Natalie Goldberg

Cancer Sucks

Cancer sucks. It really does. It has affected so many of my family and friends. In fact, I am hard pressed to find anyone whose life has not been affected by it.

My dad died of it when he was only 66. A young 66 at that. He was initially diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and fought a three-year long battle to defeat it. Unfortunately it won. At the time of his death, he also was diagnosed with TWO other forms of cancer. It seems one kind was not enough.

A year ago I was sitting in my doctor’s office when she found a mass on my thyroid. After many tests and a surgery to remove the right lobe of my thyroid, the cell was identified and although a rare cell, it was not malignant. The time between the initial finding and the final pathology report was rough. During this time, I thought of my dad on daily basis. If it was to be a malignant cancer, would I be as strong as my dad? Thankfully I was not to be tested. This time.

Several months later, a lump was found on my husband’s thyroid. He was not it seemed, as lucky. His cancer was malignant, has since had his entire thyroid removed, and will be treated with radioactive iodine in the near future. Thyroid cancer is one the easiest cancers to treat so his prognosis, if you will, is good. Despite the good news, the whole ordeal did take its emotional toll on all of his. Cancer robs us physically and emotionally. It sucks.

Both my husband and I are proactive with our health. Thankfully. So we don’t sit waiting for nasty cells to invade us. We wait, watching for them. I only wish everyone would be as vigilant with their bodies.