This has been a rather bittersweet Christmas season for me. There have been times – like the other day – when I could put aside the commercialism of the season and just sit back and enjoy it. And then there have been days when I just wanted the year to be over already. Most days have been somewhere in between.
I wrestled for weeks over whether or not to decorate the house and put up a tree. Last Saturday I decided not to; but then on Sunday – when it was icy cold outside – I decided I wanted a little, tabletop tree after all. Only problem was that the decorations are all in the attic and I hate going up there. So we decided to look for one of those little, pre-decorated trees. We had some food shopping to do, so we went to the grocery store and lo and behold, they had a small, potted tree decorated with a strand of mini lights and some mini ornaments, standing on a display table. It caught hubby’s eye and he called me over to check it out. The rest of these little trees were packaged in tall, plastic tote bags with a set of mini lights and tiny ball ornaments. So what the heck. Why not? It took us all of fifteen minutes to decorate it.
And that’s about as “merry”as I’ve felt since the Christmas season began with the Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (Which I missed for the first time in I don’t know how many years this year. But it was worth it. We had a great time with hubby’s sister and brother-in-law.)
So, as you know from previous posts, my sweet Shadow and I have been missing our beloved Callie for months now. We do our best to enjoy each day, but sometimes our grief just overwhelms us. I have more tearful moments than not; and Shadow just mopes around and refuses to eat. This not wanting to eat “thing” has been going on sporadically since Callie got sick. In September, you might remember, the vet was concerned enough that he ran bloodwork and took some X-rays. He couldn’t find a thing wrong and gave her the “all systems go.” Soon after that, Shadow started eating regularly again. But right around Thanksgiving, she started being finicky again. At first it didn’t really bother me. I figured she was just missing Callie and after some fun out in the yard she’d be back to “normal”. And she was. But by the 7th of December, her reflux had been really bothering her again, so I brought her to the vet to check her out again. There was nothing visible. The sore on the back of her throat had cleared up and gone away completely. And by last Friday (the 18th) she was being totally impossible about eating, so back to the vet we went yet again….
The vet and I talked about everything we could think of that might be causing Shadow’s latest finicky spells. The reflux seemed to be getting better, or at least less frequent. But the disturbing thing to both of us was that this last finicky spell had caused her to lose three and a half pounds in only eleven days. So, after deciding to change her dry food to one for sensitive tummies, and doing a thorough hands-on exam, the vet said “let’s get her in on Monday for an ultrasound on her spleen, liver, kidneys, etcetera. I want to be absolutely sure I’m not missing anything.”
So, yesterday, Shadow spent about four hours with her “Uncle Steve” and his staff getting prepped for and being ultrasounded (sp?). She had gained nearly a pound since Friday’s exam, and around one-thirty, I got the best news I’ve gotten from Dr. Steve in months….
“There are absolutely no tumors or other abnormalities anywhere. I was able to get a great view of her spleen, liver, kidneys, and the rest of her abdominal area. You can come get your sweet girl as soon as you’re ready.”
We talked about other questions I’d mentioned to him, too, and made some changes in her routine; but those were minor compared to the great results of the ultrasound. Now, even though Callie’s physical presence is still sorely missed, hubby and I can rest easy that our sweet, loving Shadow is definitely still healthy. Perhaps the rest of our holiday season will be much brighter now.
So, on that note let me close by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa (sp?), or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of the year. And a happy Tuesday to all! (Finally, a bit of the spirit of the season is starting to surface!)