I'm back on the Southside of Atlanta tucked in with three little doggies who are scared to death of the thunderstorm we're having.
Someone once said to me, "if you want someone to be excited every time they see you, get a dog". Ok, that someone was my ex-husband and he said it really meanly because he was NEVER excited to see me but... it's true. These doggies were glad to see me! Eddy the cat just wanted to sniff out all my bags to find his cat friends... who I left at the mountain house. No sense undergoing the trauma of putting them in the car for a short trip.
The trip home this morning wasn't bad. It's a hundred miles, exactly and it takes around an hour and a half. I made one pitstop and traffic slowed just a tad in town but for the most part, it was an easy drive, eating cherries and singing and praying and... just enjoying a little time alone.
The visitation for my uncle is tonight. I'm dog-sitting. Ultimately... it's one of those situations with a lot of variables that I can't control. It's two to three hours of sitting uncomfortably and it would make the funeral and graveside service tomorrow really difficult. My mom has hated leaving the dogs and she knows they're calm and content with me. Translation: no poop to clean up, no pain for Heather, it's just what made sense.
My brother Michael and his two sons, Cory and Matthew came down from Chattanooga to go to the visitation. They don't do religious services since they are Jehovah's Witness so they won't be able to go to the funeral but they are very good to be around for the family in times like this. Michael drove down this morning and worked from here and they will go back home this evening.
The dogs all went to the vets on Saturday. Lily has been having problems with drinking an abnormal amount of water, no matter how much you scold her. Turns out she has thyroid cancer. She's 13 and... she's a big dog - not as big as she was, she's lost a little weight - but with a shorter life span than a little dog would have. There is treatment that can be done but it's expensive and really just prolongs suffering. The vet is treating her symptoms (the excessive thirst) and will keep her comfortable. She's a good girl and we're just gonna love her as long as we have her.
These dogs have major separation anxiety and being left alone over the past two weeks while my mom was with her sister... with all the thunderstorms we have been having has been rough on them. Right now Lady is UNDERNEATH my recliner and Oscar is sitting beside me in the chair with a blanket pulled over him. Lily is trying to sneak cat poop from the litter box. I'm letting her. YOLO.*
I don't love thunderstorms as much since we got struck by lightning two years ago. I'm not "under the chair" terrified but I am a little more alert.
I'll be down here until Thursday and then we'll pack up the three dogs and Eddy the cat - the only one left down here - and head back to the mountains where mama can tend her garden and I can tend my kitties and life goes at a slower pace... and more importantly... where life goes on, as it should.
*you only live once
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