Whatsahappenin

I have been very busy the last few weeks, as I am sure everyone else is as well!  Between the semester winding down at Peace and shoppers exploring their newfound credit at the J. Crew, I have had a total of 4 days off in the past 4 weeks - that includes working weekend days.  I am exhausted....and my poor house shows it!  And you know the saying, "when it rains, it pours"...well, it's true!  To add to my busy schedule, I decided to have a flat tire on our boat trailer (on the way to the lake, and on my one day off), and our sweet Daisy is not doing too good!  I guess with all the crazy and bizarre weather we've been having, I should have known something was up!

I'll start with Easter - this was the day I had most been looking forward to - the mall was closed (thank God, literally) so I knew I automatically had the day off.  I have had a hard time requesting days off lately, so it was great to just be able to plan, and know that I could do whatevs I wanted!  I was able to go to 2 (yes, 2!) church services - sunrise at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, then normal service at Church of the Good Shepherd (our regular church).  I had spent some time here and there in the preceding days getting the boat ready, since this was my only day off in 2 weeks. But after we got home from church, packed our cooler with goodies and drinks, we found that the impeller had not been put in, and the battery (which had been charging all night) would not start the engine. I could feel myself slipping into Debbie Downer phase, as one thing after another went wrong.  Brent quickly raced to Autozone, bought a new battery, replaced the impeller, and off we were (a few hours later than what I hoped).  About 75% of the way there, I felt a rumbling, looked at the trailer tire in my rear view mirror, and yelled "flat tire, flat tire!"  I was actually proud of myself for knowing what was actually going on - usually in panic situations, I end up just yelling something nondescript like "oh no," or "shoot!"  Hwy 751 down to Jordan Lake is not exactly shoulder friendly - and we had to drive for what seemed like an eternity to find a place across the highway to pull over - into someone's yard.  Hey - it was an emergency - your grass will grow back.  To make matters worse, Brent quickly found that all the crazy weather we had really soaked this guy's yard in particular, and we ran out of yard space that would not be considered a mud pit.  So there we were, all ready to go out on the boat, me finally getting to ski, and just relax.  After a dead battery and replacing an impeller, we now had trailer tire that had completely come off the rim - and we were only inches away from cars flying by at 60mph.  Oh - and did I mention it was about 90 degrees out and 100% humidity?

The road was literally a foot away from the flat tire...and to make matters worse, jacking up a trailer with a boat on it is not the easiest!

The homeowner came out to help us - and we were then joined by his son and girlfriend who had come over for an Easter visit.  (Happy Easter, strangers!  I felt terrible, but they were the nicest family) They offered us their jack and help - it was a rare occasion of human kindness.  It made me sad, because so often we are afraid of people - we are taught to keep to our selves, not to talk to strangers, and to look the other way.  The mindset nowadays is - everyman for himself - it's not our problem, let them deal with it.  Thank God these people did not think like that. I will always think of their compassion every time I drive by their house.
We got the spare tire put on, only to find that it was dry rotted in a few spots and very low on air.  Brent, wisely, decided that we should turn home, and abandon our plans.  I agreed, but my heart sank.  One day off - and nothing to show for it. No fun times, no cleaning, no nothing.  We limped home - I pouting in the passenger side, and Brent, brainstorming on how to salvage the day and my downward spiral into the dulldrums.  It was a very low point for me emotionally.

Plan B - we unhooked the boat, let Daisy into the truck, and hauled booty back down to the lake.  If we couldn't be on the boat, we could at least be near the water.  Daisy was super excited - as she is for any ride in the car.  She basically dragged me to the water's edge.  I could not get the leash off fast enough.
So, what looked like a complete failure of a day actually turned into a blessing in disguise.  (as they almost always do!)  We learned last week that Daisy's liver is not functioning properly.  She had been drinking a ton of water, and not really eating all her food (um...obviously something is wrong when a lab doesn't eat all their food)  We took her to the vet, and her liver enzymes were out the roof high.

She looked so pitiful before I took her to the vet...as if to say, "please don't make me go!"  She took her "bear" in with her for comfort.

She went in for an ultrasound yesterday, and they found some suspicious spots, which are now being biopsied.  According to the vet, best case scenario is chronic hepatitis - which is treatable with diet and supplements.  Worst case scenario is cancer.  We won't know the results for a few days, so we are enjoying every minute with Daisy that we can.  It is hard to believe she is almost 10 years old.  It seems like yesterday when Brent got her, and all his college friends were feeding her hot dogs and taking her for runs.  She has been such a huge part of our lives - she even helped Brent propose to me out at Duke Forest.  As we affectionately recall, the ring was clipped into her leash and when I found it, I dropped it, and Daisy jumped all around in excitement - pummeling it into the dirty ground!  I can't imagine life without her.  All these things have been consuming my thoughts, and putting life into perspective.  What will Swerve do without Daisy to cuddle with?  What will it be like to walk by myself? Who will be our security system when we are gone?  Will the UPS man miss the ferocious barks coming from house 15 when he drives by?  I know she is still with us, and I cherish her, but the reality is that our pets do not live forever.  I know, at some point, I will have to face these questions.  I can just pray that it is later, rather than sooner.