As we bring 2009 to a close, I can't help but shed a tear...of happiness. I look back on the past 365 days and wonder why the bad days far outweigh the good. Perhaps I'm just focusing on the negative, but it's hard to focus on the positive when those few moments were bullied into a corner by the bad.
First, our beloved domesticated dingo passed away in March from a rare condition in which we were unaware. We got her from the Humane Society when she was 1 1/2 years old. We knew she had been abused, always skiddish when our feet came near her. Her ferocious, protective bark didn't seem to match her 35 pound frame. But, we gave her a good year, showering her with love. Almost a year to the day we had to make the very difficult decision to put her down. That morning I had taken her to the vet for a routine checkup and she was rushed to the ER at our local Veterinary Teaching Hospital. MRIs showed that she was really sick. They cut her open and discovered that all of her organs were adhered to her chest cavity. The doctors tried to fix the problem, but she kept bleeding. They called us at midnight asking for permission to cut her open again and without hesistation, I told them to stop. Our little girl had put up a tough fight for 8 hours already, and it would have been cruel to put her body through more stress.
We rushed to the hospital, bringing our lab, Kaeli, so that we could say our final goodbye. We walked in and saw her on the ground. tubes coming out of every part of her body. But, she knew we were there. "It's okay girl. You can go sleepy now." My husband and I bent over to give her a kiss and she tried to get up. Our tough little girl didn't want to leave us. When Kaeli went up to give her sister a kiss on the head, I lost it. It was time to go. Rest in peace Kandi, we will forever love and miss you.
Right after that, we got scammed by a local adoption agency. They took our $1500 application and homestudy fee and dropped us. Found out they're being investigated for other cases as well.
Then there was the failed fertility treatments. Each failure taking a little piece of my heart, my strength, away. And as if those losses weren't bad enough, 2009 decided to go out with a bang.
Shortly after Kandi passed away, we adopted another dog, KoKo - call it Canine Intervention. Kandi came to me in a dream, telling me to move on. Kaeli needed a playmate and Mom and Dad needed to ease their conscience.
KoKo is a beautiful brindle Border Collie/Irish Setter mix. No more than 35 pounds. Very thin build, with ribs protruding as if we never feed her. But beware, looks can be deceiving. This skinny ball of fur is freakishly strong.
On Friday the 13th, a couple weeks before Thanksgiving, KoKo's unimaginable puppy strength toppled me over when trying to take her for a simple walk. Amidst all of the soft grass and dirt, I fell right onto a tree stump breaking my shoulder and elbow. The ride to Urgent care late on a Friday night and then the following trip to the ER would have been highly comical if I wasn't in dire pain. Thank God for painkillers.
Almost two months later and I still have a long road to recovery. Never underestimate the power of a bony, little pet.
On top of all that, there's the bad economy. The high unemployment rate. The plotted terrorist attacks. Failed government bailouts and health-care reform being used as a political tennis match.
But good things did happen this year. We managed to sell a house. We managed to keep our jobs. We managed to grow closer as a family, working through all the trials and tribulations. Most important, we have our life, our health and our love. In the grand scheme of life, my 2009 wasn't that bad. 2010? For the love of all that is mighty...could you PLEASE not follow in last year's footsteps? My emotional and physical well-being depends on it! Thanks 2010...
Monica Stoneking
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Do Cars Feel Prejudice Too?
As I was driving my car into work today, I noticed Glacy Blue (yes, she has a nickname...and a gender) wasn't performing her best. Perhaps it was the pocket sheets of ice. Perhaps after sitting in the garage in sub-Arctic temperatures for the past few days, she just needed to warm up. Perhaps she's depressed.
I live a state where, until recently, being the Automotive Capital of the country was something to hang your hat on. That is, until GM went bankrupt, received the ever-popular 'bail out' money, and laid off a majority of the state's population. But still, GM products dominate the roadways and the owners are proud to flaunt their support of the now-defunct Saturn brand.
I drive a Honda CRV. I moved a little over a year ago from a state that embraces Honda (Kia, Toyota and Volkswagon) drivers. There was no issue. No stigma. When it was announced that GM could go belly-up and thousands of workers were losing there jobs, I felt the heat. I was scared for my life and that of Glacy Blue's. There were news reports of vandalism to foreign cars. Us Honda drivers were being advised to seclude our precious vehicles in a garage, keep them under lock and key.
But Glacy Blue and I were determined not to be prisoners in our own home. We've ventured out. To the store. To work. To the parts of town where GM factories once resided.
I know I was worried about her well being. But I wonder what she was thinking. "Really, you want to park me in a busy parking lot while you go shopping? Leaving me to fend for myself?" Who knows how taunted she was in public? Did she feel the prejudice?
Over the summer, I took my Little (from Big Brothers Big Sisters) to WalMart (spandex and peroxide galore) and came out to find the incomprehensible. Someone had keyed Glacy Blue all over her hood. It wasn't like there was an accidental door ding. It wasn't a little scrape that someone just overlooked. She was the victim of assault and I was mad for her.
Simple things like trying to buy her new big girl tires seems wraught with prejudice. Nobody around here has tires in stock for HONDAs! So, I just special ordered 4 new tires and hope they come in without slurs written on the side or punctures in their tread.
She's a good girl, has never let me down. And perhaps if all those bully GM cars performed as well as she does then there wouldn't be a need for all the snide looks and attitude. Glacy Blue, they're just jealous of your high performance record, of your slick look and zero breakdowns. They may try to damage your beauty, but do not let them damage your spirit.
Maybe that's it. Maybe my car is depressed. Maybe she just needs a little pick-me-up. Maybe if I told her that tomorrow we will be depending on her to drive the whole family to the state that welcomes her with open arms, she will feel better.
If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to take her to the car doc, where I'm sure 'depression' is not a valid diagnosis.
I live a state where, until recently, being the Automotive Capital of the country was something to hang your hat on. That is, until GM went bankrupt, received the ever-popular 'bail out' money, and laid off a majority of the state's population. But still, GM products dominate the roadways and the owners are proud to flaunt their support of the now-defunct Saturn brand.
I drive a Honda CRV. I moved a little over a year ago from a state that embraces Honda (Kia, Toyota and Volkswagon) drivers. There was no issue. No stigma. When it was announced that GM could go belly-up and thousands of workers were losing there jobs, I felt the heat. I was scared for my life and that of Glacy Blue's. There were news reports of vandalism to foreign cars. Us Honda drivers were being advised to seclude our precious vehicles in a garage, keep them under lock and key.
But Glacy Blue and I were determined not to be prisoners in our own home. We've ventured out. To the store. To work. To the parts of town where GM factories once resided.
I know I was worried about her well being. But I wonder what she was thinking. "Really, you want to park me in a busy parking lot while you go shopping? Leaving me to fend for myself?" Who knows how taunted she was in public? Did she feel the prejudice?
Over the summer, I took my Little (from Big Brothers Big Sisters) to WalMart (spandex and peroxide galore) and came out to find the incomprehensible. Someone had keyed Glacy Blue all over her hood. It wasn't like there was an accidental door ding. It wasn't a little scrape that someone just overlooked. She was the victim of assault and I was mad for her.
Simple things like trying to buy her new big girl tires seems wraught with prejudice. Nobody around here has tires in stock for HONDAs! So, I just special ordered 4 new tires and hope they come in without slurs written on the side or punctures in their tread.
She's a good girl, has never let me down. And perhaps if all those bully GM cars performed as well as she does then there wouldn't be a need for all the snide looks and attitude. Glacy Blue, they're just jealous of your high performance record, of your slick look and zero breakdowns. They may try to damage your beauty, but do not let them damage your spirit.
Maybe that's it. Maybe my car is depressed. Maybe she just needs a little pick-me-up. Maybe if I told her that tomorrow we will be depending on her to drive the whole family to the state that welcomes her with open arms, she will feel better.
If that doesn't work, I guess I'll have to take her to the car doc, where I'm sure 'depression' is not a valid diagnosis.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Welcome to the 21st Century
I hear that blogging has been all the rage for the past...hell, decade or so. But, I always thought it was something that those youngins do. Texting (which I am too frugal to add to my 1996 cell phone plan), tweeting (just found out it had nothing to do with Tweetie Bird) and Facebooking (yes, I made it into a verb: Facebook: to send someone a message) - all of these are products of the XYZ generation. All of these are an attempt to keep everyone in the know in this fast-paced society.
Well, I haven't quite gotten texting down - I am able to reply with a yes or no with no punctuation. I have a Twitter account but it's too much work for me - although I am a follower of Ed Burns who has not posted anything since 2007 (I didn't even know Twitter existed then). But, I DO Facebook (note the verb tense again). I have gotten pretty good about posting pictures and updating my status, but I assure you it's just so the hundreds of friends I have (I really only know 5 of them) can be kept abreast of my daily antics.
Not that I abuse the status bar. Nothing is more annoying than getting 50 updates a day from one of your friends (someone you barely even know) about how their little cousin Joe Joe is growing so fast - as of 11a.m. he made his first big boy poo poo.
Okay, there are more annoying things, but a part of me wants to jump through these people's computers and reintroduce them to their family, their friends (if they have any)...to civilization. Another part of me wants to say, hey, if you're going to spend that much time on the computer, the least you can do is visit my blog.
The point of this blog is to show people that I am slowly, but surely entering the 21st century. And while I can't imagine a world where nobody picks up the phone or sends the ocassional card via snail mail, I'm glad technology has advanced. No more computers that take up half of your office. No more 10 pound cell phones that were one step above walkie talkies. Sure, it's 10 years late, but I'm glad I've entered the 21st century. And as the saying goes...it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks.
But the typewriter stays...
Well, I haven't quite gotten texting down - I am able to reply with a yes or no with no punctuation. I have a Twitter account but it's too much work for me - although I am a follower of Ed Burns who has not posted anything since 2007 (I didn't even know Twitter existed then). But, I DO Facebook (note the verb tense again). I have gotten pretty good about posting pictures and updating my status, but I assure you it's just so the hundreds of friends I have (I really only know 5 of them) can be kept abreast of my daily antics.
Not that I abuse the status bar. Nothing is more annoying than getting 50 updates a day from one of your friends (someone you barely even know) about how their little cousin Joe Joe is growing so fast - as of 11a.m. he made his first big boy poo poo.
Okay, there are more annoying things, but a part of me wants to jump through these people's computers and reintroduce them to their family, their friends (if they have any)...to civilization. Another part of me wants to say, hey, if you're going to spend that much time on the computer, the least you can do is visit my blog.
The point of this blog is to show people that I am slowly, but surely entering the 21st century. And while I can't imagine a world where nobody picks up the phone or sends the ocassional card via snail mail, I'm glad technology has advanced. No more computers that take up half of your office. No more 10 pound cell phones that were one step above walkie talkies. Sure, it's 10 years late, but I'm glad I've entered the 21st century. And as the saying goes...it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks.
But the typewriter stays...
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