Lesson #10: Always expect the unexpected!

Hello there!

I feel like I am in a movie... It's cold and snowy outside but I am the warm coffee shop sipping on hot chocolate and every once in a while glancing outside to watch life go by.  It is actually quite peaceful... The lighting even has a warm tint to it.   I swear Drew Barrymore is going to walk in any moment... Anyway...

Lesson #10: Always expect the unexpected!

Today, Matthew kissed me good bye and left for work before the sun came up.  An hour or so later, I woke up to my kitty purring and cuddling, like usual.  I got ready for class and walked to campus in the biting cold.  The first day of classes was usual and expected.  We went over the syllabus, the anxiety took over my body, and the stress set in.  All completely expected.  I came home and kept busy until Matthew got off work.  Then, as planned, we drove to the vet's office for Buster's yearly shots and check up.  (Buster is our dog who we love love love.  I would've attached an adorable picture but the computer isn't letting me.  Just picture a golden retriever cut off at the knees and add chow hair.  He is THE cutest!  promise.)  Completely normal right?  Well, this is where the unexpected kicks in!  His ears have been bothering him and each of them had a scab that looked infected.  One looked significantly worse than the other and the entire ear was growing quite thick.  Something similar has happened before, we've treated it at home, and then it goes away.  We thought maybe that the vet would give us some sort of antibiotic cream or something simple.  NO!  UNEXPECTED!  Buster was taken immediately into surgery!!!  I know he is a dog and I know nothing about mothering, but I am still his "mom!"  This was not easy for me!!

Let me back up... The surgery was SUPER minor and they said fairly common.  He was in and out in a few hours and now he is home with his grandma resting.  I will now explain what happened, if you do not care about dog anatomy or what the surgery was, I give you permission to skip the next paragraph.

Okay, put your hands together, like prayer hands.  Look at your thumbs.  This is what the inside of a dogs ear sort of looks like.  If the dog some how manages to bust the blood vessels inside his ear then a space between the hands starts to appear and this is not good.  The space starts to fill with fluids and infection that cause pain.  The pain causes the dog to shake and scratch even more.  So, in order to drain the fluid and for the ear to heal, the vet has to put in a tube.  The tube will stay in for 6 weeks and then they will remove it.  The draining should be done in about 4 days, but scar tissue has to form and the ear needs to fully recover before the tube can be removed.  How did he burst his blood vessel?  We are not 100% sure.  The vet says that it looks like from some sort of trauma.  We think it happened during a panic attack last week.  He had a rough day or so where he wouldn't calm down or sleep.  :(  He has a lot of trouble with anxiety.  We think he was abused before we adopted him so that is completely understandable.

So, Buster is okay and well.  He is probably asleep as I type, but I will worry about him because he is my baby!!  Luckily, we have one healthy pet!  May Mobley, our kitty, is strong and healthy and ruling our apartment with an iron paw!

Okay, I am almost done... I have a sub lesson in all of this.  Sub lesson of #10: Mommy senses are real.

I told you about my day and how normal it was.  But, you can ask Matthew.  I texted him all day worried about this vet apt.  I just felt it in my gut that something bad was going to happen at the vet.  Like I said, I know I am not a real mother, but I felt like it was some sort of sense that I had.  I was right!

If that isn't good enough proof, I'll tell you a story about me.  One night, when I was in middle school maybe?  I woke up and didn't feel so good.  I won't give any details but I will tell you that I was not loud and I wasn't noisy.  My sister in the next room did not wake up.  But my mommy, who was downstairs through two closed doors woke up.  She came upstairs and asked if I was okay.  HOW DID SHE KNOW??? Because moms know.  They just do!

I hope that you enjoyed todays lesson and tomorrow, you expect the unexpected.  It doesn't always have to be bad. (:

Lesson #9: Life is better when you are bloggin'

Hello there readers! (if there any...)

Today I came to the local coffee shop to eat lunch with my wonderful mother-in-law and some friends from church.  I decided to stick around and get on the Internet for the first time in weeks... I clicked on my blog (that I haven't updated since August...) and read some of the posts.  It reminded me of how much I loved blogging... even with only nine posts.  I remember how relaxing it was to write out my thoughts and clear my mind a little.  So I am going to try to start up again.  It's not a New Years Resolution or anything like that... Just gonna try it out again.

Since it is the 2013 now... Everyone is posting lists about 2012 and so it seems appropriate for me to post a list about 2012.  Specifically lessons I have learned!!  Here I go:

• There are things you should not buy the cheap, off brands for, even if you are tight on money!
• Kitty litter... The purpose of it is to clump and to mask the smell of nasty kitty things.  Off brand litter from CVS does not do these things and she may as well be doing her business on the floor.
• Dish washing liquid... When the dish has gone through the process of being washed and dried it should NOT still smell like the food that was in it before.  A bowl that smells like spaghetti doesn't mix well with cereal!
• Our parents weren't crazy or making things up!
• This is a direct quote from the hubby!  One day we were cleaning and after a while we still had a list of to dos!  I told him, "Having your own house stinks! (kidding) You gotta clean it, pay for it, and the laundry and dishes never stops!"  His response was, "Maybe my mom wasn't crazy or making things up when she was always saying she had a lot to do!"
• Holidays as a married couple are amazing, but there is no making everyone happy!
• I think that one explains itself... Remember to be understanding everyone. (:
• Having a wedding and a trip to Haiti in the same summer is super awesome and super crazy at the same time!
• 2013 is going to have big shoes to fill... 2012 was the best year ever!
• There are still good people left in the world!
• If you don't know it, I work at Kohls.  During November and December we are crazy busy with customers Christmas shopping!!  It is insane!  I love it because I love being busy, but it is also sometimes frustrating because the rude in the customer seems to come out around in this time!  I had one lady throw the contents of her wallet at me for asking for a second form of identification.  My friend had a lady yell at her for the 86 cents she owed and refused to pay it.  It seemed like every customer complained about all the Christmas shopping they had to do, like I was making them do it?  And I could go on and on... But there are still good people left in the world. 
• One man needed assistance with the cotton candy machines we sold.  We were swamped and he was going to need to wait a minute.  I went to explain to him that it would be a bit before someone was with him and was prepared to apologize up and down because normally this doesn't go over so well... He stopped me and said, "It's okay, I know you are busy.  I will go wait."  I could have kissed the man.  It was so so sweet!
• One day it had been busy like usual and I asked the lady checking out how she was.  Normally I get a "good" and then they ask aboud coupons or complain about their day.  She said, "I am great!  How are you?  Are you exhausted?  You look like you have been working so hard!  I appreciate it!"  I almost cried.  That small little talk was such a big blessing!
• Last week we were very busy and had a lot of call outs and our manager was feeling very under the weather.  My drawer was running low on change and there was no one to run and get me any.  The customers in my line heard me talking on my walkie and each of them gave me all the ones and pennies they could without me even asking.  They counted out twenty and thirty pennies so I could refill my drawer.  How sweet is that????
• Lastly, the customer behind the customer who threw her wallet contents at me.  She told me she was sorry that happened to me and that she hoped my day got better!  Those words meant so much!
• I love blogging!  That's my last lesson on my list, but I am sure I learned a lot more!

Well, I must go.  My cute husband just got off work and is about to head to his second job.  My poor man... He works too much!  So I am off to spend as much time with him as a I can!  I hope to blog again soon!  Life is better when you are bloggin'!