We Lost a Family Member Today

Jasmine, our loyal and loved friend of over 11 years died this morning. She had been lethargic and not eating for two days and was having a hard time breathing. Somehow I feared the worst and did not think she would make it through the night. We all gave her a lot of love before bedtime. I carried her upstairs and laid her on the floor at the foot of our bed and I made up a bed next to her. She seemed to be OK all night and changed positions a few times. In the morning I carried her downstairs and outside and she went out in the snow and laid down. She loved to do that. I had to carry her back in and when I came down from my shower, I found she had climbed up to her spot on the couch. I took the picture above this morning. After Lucie took the kids to school, I put her in Lucie's car and she took her to the vet. The vet did x-rays which showed a mass in her stomach and lung cancer. He said she might not make it through the day. So I left work and went and picked up Ashleigh and Elliott from school. She was fading fast when we got to the vet but hung on and waited till her family could all be by her side. Then she just closed her eyes and went to sleep one last time. Saddest day of my life.

You Never Know

It seems lately that this is the time for the unexpected. Several people I know have had job or personal experiences twist and turn and go in directions they never saw coming. Me too. Every day it seems something pops up that I never saw coming or things go in a direction I didn't think would ever happen. In the past I would spend a lot of time, and looking back perhaps it was wasted time, thinking and planning and trying to account for every conceivable option that could affect a particular situation. How many times did things NOT go the way I planned? Over and over again I had to learn to just let it go and let "nature" take its course. That does not mean I was uncaring or lazy - of course I had to make contingency plans and do my due diligence to be prepared. But I have come to realize that even my best laid plans are often not enough. It is exciting to see where life takes us. I guess one could chose to be afraid of the unexpected and withdraw for fear of the unknown. Or one could choose to embrace the energy and "go with the flow" knowing God is in control and ultimately, it is all His plan. And for my benediction (!) I offer these verses from Ecclesiastes: Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No one knows what is coming--who can tell him what will happen after him?

But for today, there was nothing unexpected about the storm going on outside. We have about 6 inches on the ground now with at least another foot on the way. It is light and fluffy but the wind is blowing. I am going to go out and make the first pass at clearing the driveway now. I am the only New Englander in the neighborhood and usually the only one that goes out several times in a storm to shovel. I say it is better to shovel 4 inches three times than a foot once. There should be a Bible verse for that too!

Elliott is doing well at basketball. He scored 16 out of 33 points the other night for his team but it wasn't enough and they lost. They are off for a few weeks but are going to try and practice sometime during the break. Ashleigh is still playing indoor lacrosse and doing well. I have told them they are dedicating one vacation day to cleaning their rooms. Which goes back to my philosophy: better to clean a little every day than waste a whole day cleaning.

I should go into the fortune cookie writing business...

It's been a while since I posted and I was telling a friend the other day that I have been busy and didn't really have anything blog worthy to post. Then I looked back and realized that never stopped me before...!!

Thanksgiving was very nice and relaxing with friends. Lucie did make us a turkey too so we were able to have leftovers.

Since then, Ashleigh has started playing indoor lacrosse with some friends from school. They will be the varsity high school team in the spring so this is a great tune-up. They are playing just over the PA line every Saturday. Elliott is back playing city league basketball. He is the tallest and best on his team but he cannot carry the whole team. He is the veteran on the floor and his skills improvement is really good. I don't see a good year for his team though. It seems the other teams all have about 3 good and tall players. Elliott is the only one on his team... He also has had some major dental work done with a palate expander and a jaw alignment thing. He looks like The Godfather and is very uncomfortable. But it is only for a few months and of course the benefits will last a lifetime.

It seems like it has rained every other day. But it beats the snow alternative so that is OK.

Lucie's kid's church play went very well. Next Saturday is the church dinner. This morning was the church choir concert. I woke up just as it ended.

Timing is everything...