Every Pet Deserves a Chance at Life

In just 3 days, I will be in Boston with my friend Amy to walk in the 4th Annual Paws 4 A Cure Walk.  A while back, I wrote a guilt-inducing (I hope!) post about why groups like Paws 4 A Cure, who provides medical treatment for animals whose parents can't afford it, are important.  We're not talking about medical treatments like teeth cleaning, or shots, or spay and neuter.  We're talking about things like life-or-death surgery or cancer treatments.  Without these, the pets would most likely die. 

It breaks my heart to think that a pet could die because a family couldn't afford to treat them.  Jim and I have always felt so fortunate that we could afford any care for Indiana that we needed.  But not every family is so lucky.  And that's why I feel that it's so important to give back.  Indiana has had almost 5 more years of good quality life since her first cancer diagnosis, and though there have been bumps on the road, she has come through all of them.  I think every pet deserves that chance. 

So that's why I'm donating money to Paws 4 A Cure, and that's why I'm flying all the way to Boston to support my friend, Paws 4 A Cure founder Keri, in this wonderful endeavor.  I would be most grateful if you would make a donation as well.  No amount is too small.  If you feel moved to support this cause, please head to their website and make a pledge.  "Team Indiana Bones" would appreciate your support! Every pet deserves a chance at life!

Samson and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Habit

You'd never suspect what lies deep within the depths of his mind.

So Samson has this new habit, and I'm not thrilled with it. 

He's been bringing me dead snakes.

In the house.

Did I mention that they're dead?

Oh, and they have no heads.

Seriously, no heads.

I don't know where the heads go, but by the time he brings them into the house, that part is missing.

So he just tosses the rest of the....gulp...body...around the house, having the best time ever.

I never know where one is going to show up.

If you come over to my house, I recommend looking very carefully before you take a step.

You never know.

I love my Mom

My Mom rocks.

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and although it capped a really busy weekend for me, it was a great day.  The day wasn't about me at all (Jim's been working a crazy number of hours, so I was satisfied with a simple, "Oh, yeah.  Happy Mother's Day.").  But wait, I did get a dead snake from Sam, so at least one of my children remembered.  Hah.

Anyway, after I got off work, I resisted the urge to take a nap (singing for nearly 3 straight hours, plus about 3 total hours of driving to and from Chicago equals a really tired me, every single Sunday) and instead prepared dinner for my Mom.  Since she's a rockstar, she was conducting the pit for one of our community theatre's productions of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," which I got to see on Saturday night.  My Mom is the most engaging pit conductor I've ever seen, working her butt off to be energetic for the instrumentalists and cast.  In fact, last week I got an email from my Mom saying, "We need to go jeans shopping soon.  I cut the legs off a pair in the pit the other night because I was so hot."  That's dedication to your craft right there, people. 

I knew dinner last night would need to be simple, because most of my guests would be tired (Mom coming from the show, and Jim coming home late from work).  So I made some of my Mom's favorites, including cold veggie pizza (you know, the kind with biscuit dough and cream cheese dressing?), which she's been craving forever.  Oddly, Mom really wanted veggie pizza for Mother's Day but didn't want to ask me to go through the trouble.  Yay for Mother/Daughter ESP. 

I also always make homemade chocolate eclairs for my Mom for both Mother's Day and her birthday.  It's her favorite dessert ever, and my Grandma always used to make it for her.  So I always make a big batch for her and send them all home for her to enjoy over the next...oh, day or so. 

It was a nice night.  The four of us sat out on the deck and ate our dinner.  It was a little chilly, but still pretty pleasant once you put on a sweater.  It's been an unusually cool spring here in Illinois, so I really wanted to take advantage of the changing (warmer) weather.

I spoiled my Mom with lots of her favorite foods and flowers and presents.  She deserves it.  When I say my Mom is a rockstar, I naturally don't mean it literally, but, still, my Mom is amazing.  She's an amazing teacher, and even though she's been teaching for over 30 years, and she's within a few years of retiring, she still tries new teaching methods, trying to find the best ways to reach and engage her students.  And she wins awards.  And her students love her.  I'm really proud of that.

My Mom is also an amazing actress, singer, conductor, gardener, crafter.  She can build houses, rescue kittens, feed every stray in a one-mile radius.  She does my laundry when she stops by to feed my animals when I'm gone, she cries when she sees her first hummingbird of the year, and she's basically Mom to the whole world.  Which is why I'm so glad she's my Mom.  She's made me the person I am today.  She's my best friend.  She's the best Grandma any dog or cat could ask for.  I am so blessed.

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I would be remiss if I failed to point out that I also have a really wonderful mother-in-law.  She's a warm, loving woman who always sends me a card and a gift for Mother's Day, even though I don't have any humans of my own.  So even though she has 9 grandchildren (of the two-legged variety), she still recognizes my motherhood, and I love her for that (and for so many other reasons). 

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Only 5 days until the Paws 4 A Cure Walk!  It's not too late to consider a tax deductible donation for "Team Indiana Bones!"  Please help save a pet's life!

Redo

My non-profit, The Great Good Heart Animal Cancer Foundation, has a new website!  I've been wanting to redo it for ages, but for various reasons, I never did.  Finally, it came down to finances--by switching to Weebly, we were able to save $120 a year (though actually $60--Jim and I were paying half out of pocket), which, for a tiny non-profit organization, is a huge amount of money.  The new website is not only free, but it looks loads better.  So, yay me! 

Anyway, I would be most grateful if you would visit our new website:  http://www.greatgoodheart.org/.  Please let me know how you like it.  Let me know if you don't like something.  Let me know if there's something missing that you think an animal cancer website should have.  The website still needs a lot of work, but, believe me, it's a whooooooole lot better than the old one!  You can leave opinions as comments here on my blog, or you can email Great Good Heart at cancersupport@greatgoodheart.org. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Squiggles!

Today is Mr. Squiggles' birthday.  He is 9 years old.  We have so many reasons to celebrate today.  This time last year, Mr. Squiggles was missing, and had been for almost 8 months.  (If you aren't familiar with his story, start here.)  His birthday was a day we just wanted to skip.  We missed him every single day, looked for him every single day, never gave up hope that he would come back to us.  But still, May 4th was hard.  But then, every day was hard.

Today, it's strange to look back on where we were a year ago.  Some days I can almost, almost, forget what we went through.  Yet we will never forget.  I try not to think about those dark days--by this time I had experienced so much loss and pain in such a short period of time--because it's easier to block them out than to think about them.  Thinking about them won't change things, won't make it all go away.  And honestly, all that matters is that our boy is home.  He came back to us. 

I marvel every single day that we got him back.  He is our miracle cat, a perfect match to our miracle dog.  I still stare into his eyes every single day, one of which is so unfamiliar to me, yet the other remains the same, the one that belongs to the boy I always knew and loved.  And amazingly, he has the same personality, only now he is slightly more confident, slightly more assured in what he wants, because, after what he's been through, he knows without a doubt what that is.  We still have litter box wars, and when he's mad, he still pees on the floor.  And you know what?  That's okay.  I can clean it up, or just get a new rug.  It's replaceable.  But you know what's not?  My sweet boy. 

So, happy birthday to my little Mr. Squiggles.  I wish there was a gift I could give you to celebrate this day in the way it deserves to be celebrated.  Getting you back is one of the best gifts I've ever been given.  Happy Birthday, little guy.

Supporting Me For Me

I've written several times about finding the balance between all of my different selves--the mom, the singer, the animal wellness advocate, the artist, the wife, the daughter.  It's tough, as probably every woman knows (we tend to struggle with this more than men--why is that?).  For the past nearly five years, I've put a lot of focus on being "The Mom," dedicating most of my time to my animals, and, specifically, to Indiana.  I don't regret this, but it has left little time for the other selves.  Or, if there has been time, I've felt difficult making decisions that might take me away from caring for Indiana. 

Because we've lived under this umbrella of not knowing how much time she has left, I've not wanted to commit to large projects that will take me away from home, which is partly why I haven't pursued a career in opera in the way I had originally intended.  Again, I don't regret it, and it's allowed me a lot of time with Jim and the rest of my family, and to explore other "selves," like "The Blogger," and "The Cancer Advocate." But now, I've decided to take a leap and do something big, something just for me.

This weekend, I auditioned for a musical, my favorite, "Into the Woods."  A friend had started a new theatre company, one that would do outdoor theatre in the summer, a pretty exciting concept.  After convincing my Mom to try out too, I took the leap and auditioned.  And I made it in.  And I got one of the roles I wanted, the Baker's Wife.  I was beyond excited to be cast, but minutes after I heard, a moment of panic set in.  Doing the show is a two month commitment, sacrificing my weekday evenings for rehearsals.  It's more time than I've given to anything since Indy got sick.  What if something happened?  Was it okay to spend so much time away?  (Even though it's here in town--so no commuting--geez) 

But then I thought to myself, "This is something you want.  This is a part of yourself ("The Actress") that you've missed.  Indy is doing well.  She's stable.  This is a chance to do something just for you.  That's not selfish.  That's okay."  I've put a lot of thought into this decision, and while it's something so different for the new me, I've decided that that's alright.  Jim will be home most evenings, and while yes, I am sacrificing time away from my family, I am enriching me.  I've given so much to others, and now it's time to give back to myself.  So I'm taking the plunge, and going "Into the Woods."

Seeking Fortune and Glory

This weekend was Indiana's 13th Birthday party, with the theme of "Indiana Bones."  We had such a good time.  We had almost 30 people at the party (plus one doggie guest), and because it was so windy outside, we had to have the party inside.  Luckily, all of the guests get along! 

The spread of food.  I forgot to take a picture before the food was devoured, but you get the idea.  The food was themed to the party, of course, with foods from the different countries featured in the movies.  Check out the awesome golden idol in the center of the photo, by the way.

Each guest got their own golden goblet.  Each guest was tasked with picking "the cup of Christ," by flipping over their cup.  If they "chose poorly," they got the aging, melty-faced guy.  One guest "chose wisely," picking the cup with the knight, and winning a prize!

Again, I forgot to take a picture of the beverage table before all of the cups were taken, but it looked pretty cool.

Part of the decor.  Note the monkey.

Dessert!  I like to bake.

And I really like dessert.

What's an Indiana Jones party without chilled monkey brains?  Nobody really ate it (and I can't say as though I blame them), but it was totally worth it because everyone thought it was funny.

The lady of the day.  She had THE. BEST. TIME.  Every time a guest would come in, she would light up.  And she got tons of attention.  She sat in the middle of all of the action, surveying her kingdom.  All of the work, all of the stress, was totally worth it, seeing her face during this party.

Some of the guests.

My doggie-cousin, Honey.  She was so good and totally funny.  She found a cat toy mouse, thought it was real, and ran around the house at top speed with it in her mouth, showing it to all of the guests and the cats.  I died laughing.

Indiana with my friend's baby.  He was so good with her, and she with him.  The photo is blurry, but I couldn't resist posting it.

My friend's baby, bringing a toy to Indy.  So sweet!

Our vet came to the party!  She laid down with Indiana, and Indy looked at her like, "What the heck are YOU doing here?" Then she gave her a giant kiss right on the nose.  I love this picture!

Overall, it was a wonderful day.   We had several games and fun prizes, which the guests really enjoyed, and way too much food.  It was crazy busy, and utterly fantastic.  I love all of our friends and family for being such good sports, and for supporting us and Indiana.  That's true love, honestly.  Indiana is still exhausted from the big day, but in seeing her face, and the looks of delight at all of the action and attention, I would do it all again in a heartbeat.  That is exactly why we throw these parties.  I love that dog with all my heart.