It has been quite awhile since I've written anything of consequence. It is, in part, because I never caught the Christmas spirit this year, at least not the decorate your house, wrap presents, send cards, etc variety.This year I've lamented the necessity for those distractions and spent a lot of time thinking about the story behind it all. However, you must not think that the thinking yield profound thoughts or that the thinkin makes me particularly holy. In some ways it was simply the most obvious place to put my reflections since I did not care to participate in the standard Christmas celebrations.
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Some of you may recall that we have/had a greyhound named Willow. She has not been particularly active since shortly after I started this blog and I am not sure if any photos of her were ever posted here.
On Saturday before Christmas we took her to the vet for boarding. However, Hubby and I both had it in the back of our minds that maybe we would have her put to rest instead of boarding her. In the last 6 mos to a year, she has become very expensive and has failed increasingly. And, unfortunately, we did not have the financial or other resources to care for her.
We talked with Kevin, our vet, and he said something that helped me make up my mind. He said "Willow has been a good dog for you for nearly 13 years (she was 13.5) and you should not keep her so long that you hate her." The constant cleaning I had to do for Willow (she was in renal failure) was rapidly destroying my feeling towards her.
So we put her to sleep that day.
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On Monday before Christmas, we drove down to my parents and spent the past week with them. We enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We spent most of our time relaxing.
On Christmas Day we visited my brother's house and spent Christmas with his family. It was a nice slow Mxxxxxxx kind of day.
One of my main accomplishments over break was finishing Emma by Jane Austen and getting more than half way through Hard Times by Charles Dickens. In addition, I took tons of photos.
One afternoon, I took what I call a photo drive with my Mom and Dad. While Mom and I were wandering around a cemetery, I explained to Mom that I can lose myself in photography. It is very true. On that particular day my hands were swollen and sore and my hip was bothering me but when I was wandering around with my camera, I can forget it all.
As I begin to catch up after the first of the new year, I will share some of the photos.
I leave you with these of the girls sledding.
With Love, Melissa
I had a brief meltdown about the too much clutter of Christmas , hubby sent me to get all new decorations (much fewer and much simpler), and then things settled down, well as far as Christmas goes--it has been a whirlwind of activity which led to me being laid up for the last few days with a bad RA flair-up (I spent 2 days playing video games.) Today is better but I am taking it easy trying to keep another flair-up at bay. In other words, I know where you are coming from and what you mean. Photography, art, video games, books. My life when I have a flair-up. :) And they really do take your mind off of things.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I love the snowy photos.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your dog, but it sounds like you did the right thing.
I'm so desperate for Christmas to be over now. It's been so tiring this year and a bit stressful with the noise from next door neighbours, etc. Oh for a bit of peace! Lol.
Hugs.
I love the photos of your girls sledding....reminds me of when my own kids were young. They would do it for hours on end. It was lovely to have my almost 3 year old granddaughter here for Christmas and she got to go sledding with my "kids"...her Mommy and her Uncle. Uncle lost his expensive cell phone in the process under all the snow, so it ended on a sad note.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! I look forward to seeing the cemetery through your lens.
Sorry to hear about your dog. It sure sounds like it was time to let go though.
ReplyDeleteI love the sledding pictures.
I'm glad to hear that you had a good time with your family over the holiday.
It seems as though you made the right decision about your beloved pet. Remember the scriptures in Ecclesiastes "a time to live and a time to die".
ReplyDeleteI felt the same about Christmas this year. We didn't even have a tree. We did a grab bag gift exchange. It was more about family and reflecting on the great gift of Jesus Christ the Father gave us so we would have life everlasting. I think most of us agree that He wasn't born this time of year, but nothing wrong with choosing a day for us to celebrate and be thankful for His Birth.
We might start making a donation to worthy organizations or needy families instead of buying gifts. We all agreed that we don't celebrate in the manner that we should.
Have a blessed New Year! (great snow riding pictures!)
Heather, Thanks for understanding. It can be frustrating.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I hope peace has returned to your life in the New Year.
Connie, I imagine someone will find the phone in the spring. I bet it was fun to watch your grand though. ;)
Primrozie, Thank you for the reminder from Ecclesiastes, it helps.
My family (as in my parents, siblings, and myself) do give to a worthy cause every year. This is the third year and we are enjoying the process. A different person selects the charity and gathers the funds every year. And reports back.
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your dog. It does sound that you have a wise vet however. I hope that 2009 brings many good things for your family.
Peace.