Not the best start to summer...

School's been out for two weeks and the first week of summer break was not particularly exciting. I attended a couple of professional development sessions, I got a haircut, and I got a few fun things in the mail. Also, our washer – already on its last legs – stopped working, necessitating a big repair job for C. Like I said, not exciting.

Probably the most exciting moment of the week was when my car hit a cool mileage reading. Once my car had passed 225,000 miles last year, I realized that there would be a string of consecutive numbers in less than 10,000 miles. I planned and set my tripmeter accordingly (I even put post-it flags on either side of the button to remind us NOT to reset it when we filled up the tank!). This quarantine obviously really slowed any accumulation of miles, but it finally happened!

2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10!

We'd been looking forward to the weekend because for the first time since Christmas, we had both of my brothers, their wives, my niece and nephew, and our two four-legged nephews at our house! We celebrated my mom's birthday and it was so wonderful to be with everyone again. We've all been vigilant throughout this pandemic about staying home and taking every possible precaution in order to protect my mom's health, so we felt safe getting together.

One of the highlights of the weekend was inflating a pool for my three-year old niece to play in. Since the water was cold when we filled it, C and my two brothers boiled water using every kettle and pot we own to warm up the water for her. Precious!

The second highlight was after my niece and nephew were in bed and we played Telestrations (if you haven't played this game, I highly recommend it – absolutely hilarious!). If you don't know this about me already, I am a TERRIBLE artist. Atrocious. I've accepted this inability to draw and avoid having to illustrate anything ever. Well, I got the word "Yoda" and my drawing is below. Enjoy.

it's supposed to be Yoda
raising Luke's x-wing fighter
out of the swamp on Dagobah

Our family time wrapped up on Sunday and I was anticipating another low-key week, aside from a couple of scheduled zoom meetings for school and the delivery of a new washer and dryer (yay!). That's not how things turned out.

On Monday, we noticed that Ginny was a bit lethargic. We didn't really give it much thought and just figured all of the excitement of the weekend after months of quiet had just tired her out.

On Tuesday, she was still pretty lethargic in the morning, and by dinner time, she was panting and breathing rapidly. We made an appointment with our regular vet for Wednesday, but were optimistic because she was eating and drinking normally. We observed some muscle spasms in her back and neck, and given that she's a Dachshund, is an IVDD survivor, and had spinal surgery in 2014, our first thought was something was wrong with her back.

We took to the vet on Wednesday afternoon, and because of social distancing requirements, we were not allowed to go in to the office. A tech came out and got her, Dr. T. came out to the car to chat with us, and a tech brought her back out to us at the end of the appointment – all from a safe distance and with everyone, including us, wearing masks.

I may need to explain a little about Ginny. At home, she will bark at anything and everything. In the car, the same. But once she is out in public, any onlooker would assume she is the most well-behaved, quiet little dog because she doesn't bark, she doesn't chase things, she doesn't bother anyone or anything. This is not because she is well-behaved and quiet; it is because she is terrified. She has always been so fearful of the outside world. When we take her to the vet, she allows Dr. T. (and any other vet we've seen) to examine her, move her head and legs around, look in her eyes, ears, and mouth, whatever needs to be done, with no resistance.

Well, we weren't with her this time and she was stubborn and obstinate. Dr. T. referred to her as "a potato" because she would not budge for Dr. T. As silent and still as a stone. While that sounds amusing, it's not exactly helpful when Dr. T. is trying to evaluate and diagnose. She did manage to do an x-ray, and there was no obvious indication that anything was wrong with her spine. Since that surgery in 2014, there have been a few spells where we've had to do rest and medication to counteract flare-ups, but overall, we've been very fortunate because that surgery was an unparalleled success.

We came home Wednesday night with medication and directions for crate rest. We don't have a crate, but we do have a playpen we bought back in 2014, and we'd already gotten it out and made her sleep in it on Tuesday night just to be safe.

Obviously the medication helped and she was able to rest comfortably Wednesday night and yesterday. We decided to take her for a drive yesterday, as we've been doing throughout this entire quarantine, and that proved to not be a good idea. I think the jostling of the car bothered her and it wasn't long before she was panting again. We came home and got her settled again, and things seemed ok.

So OK that when I spoke with Dr. T. this morning to get her bloodwork results (everything looked goo), I said Ginny was doing ok and that we were just going to continue with the meds and rest. I had long-standing plans to meet a friend for lunch, and Ginny was resting comfortably with C when I left. I was at lunch less than an hour and we were just finishing up when C called and said Ginny was crying and panting. When I got home fifteen minutes later, she did not look good. C had already called the neurologist's office.

We took Ginny to the emergency vet hospital, and once again, we were not allowed to go in. We waited in the parking lot while she was seen and the vet called us to let us know Ginny was being admitted and would be seeing a neurologist tomorrow. If surgery is an option, that's what we'll be pursuing. We'll know more tomorrow once more testing is done, including an MRI.

So now we're at home and the house is so quiet and empty and I hate it. I can't even explain how much I hate it. My heart is filled with worry and tomorrow cannot get here soon enough so we know what we're dealing with. I can't help imagining our sweet little girl all alone in a strange place, loopy from meds, feeling awful…it is the worst.

All I can do is remind myself how tough she is, how much she has overcome in her life already, and that she is receiving the very best possible care.

I might not know for sure how this weekend will play out, but I do know we will do anything and everything to make her better.

notice her ear in the water bowl :)

a heating pad seemed to help

she really liked the heating pad

heading to the emergency vet hospital

right before the tech came to take her in
<3

 

Happy Tails to you…

Quarantine: Week 13

Since restrictions are being lifted on going out into the world, I think this will be my final post with the word "quarantine" in the title. It's kind of unbelievable to think that it's been 13 weeks! I've loved the opportunity to reevaluate what is actually important and worthy of my time; it became very apparent that there was a lot of nonsense I was allowing to infiltrate my space!

The school year finally came to a close and students were able to come and get their things! It was nice to see my colleagues in person and to celebrate our fifth graders moving on to middle school. I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some trepidation about where things will stand in August...there are so many unknowns, but I've decided to not let guessing and worrying ruin my summer!

We took Ginny on lots of rides this week, which is one of the things I've really loved doing during all of this! Last night, we drove to National Harbor because the ferris wheel was displaying rainbow colors in celebration of Pride Month. The pictures really don't do it justice because it was so beautiful in person!

I'm looking forward to a quiet summer filled with family time!

all packed up for the summer!

our eighth "live from home" Steven Page concert

I made this catch-all box this week and
painted it to match the sign I made last year
(hanging on the wall in the background)

we completed this puzzle of
Hong Kong Disneyland
and it was a doozy!

love this girl!

Happy Tails to you!

Quarantine: Week 12

I don't have many photos to share in this post.

Ginny celebrating the first day of Pride Month

we bought some adhesive sheets for the puzzle
we finished so that we'll be able to frame it

once the adhesive sheets were applied to the back of the puzzle,
all we had to do was trim the excess off - very simple

We were finally allowed to enter the school building, so I packed up my office this week and frankly, I was glad to do so. Things had felt so unfinished for me since leaving school on March 13 and I am relieved to have a small sense of closure now. I don't have any cabinets, closets, or counters in my office, so I brought everything home, but the upside of having a very small office space is that I can't keep much at school. The downside is that my dining room will house all of the bins, bags, and baskets for the summer. It was weird to go into my office and immediately see the hats and mittens I keep near the door for Kiss and Ride duty when the temperature outside was well over 90 degrees. It really hit home that it was winter the last time I was there. Given the circumstances, we are allowed to keep things up on the walls and bulletin boards over the summer, so I turned my calendar to August before leaving for the day. I guess time will tell if we'll actually be back in the building in two months.

Other than going to school, it's been a pretty sad, dark week and I've been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting and listening.

Ginny's been a little more subdued than normal (and that's saying something, because she's never been a playful energetic dog, even when she was very young) because I think she could sense my sadness. She stayed close to me as usual, but was willing to let me hold her for longer periods of time (as a general rule, she is not a cuddler) and as she's done so often in her life, provided me amazing comfort and companionship.

I know I usually keep this blog a happy, lighthearted place. I love writing about our dogs and our travels and random things going on in life. But I'm going to get real about things that might make some people uncomfortable.

When I moved to the U.S. in 1995, I had many people – in both countries – ask me what the differences were between Canada and the U.S. The reality is that SO many things are similar. Having traveled to some places where things are very different, I can honestly say that Canada and the U.S. are much more alike than they are different.

However, I gave the same answer to the question whether a Canadian or an American asked me: "There is a lot more racism in the U.S."

That is exactly what I said. Every single time.

The response from Canadians was, "Really?" in a surprised tone reserved for when you don't understand something.

The response from Americans was, "Really?" in a doubtful tone reserved for when whatever you've just heard cannot possibly be true.

Let me tell you: it was, and is, the truth.

The racism was, and is, palpable.

Twenty-five years after moving here, I would adjust that answer somewhat and say that there is more overt, blatant racism in the U.S. because I'm older, and a little wiser, and Canada has its own issues, but I'm not getting into that here.

Some of you might think, "What does this privileged white girl know about racism?"

And to some extent, you would be absolutely correct.

But I'd like to remind you that I come from a mixed family. My dad adopted me and he is Chinese. I couldn't possibly estimate the number of times I've had to tell people, he's my dad, not my step-dad, not my mom's husband, not a family friend…MY DAD. Period. Full stop.

My two brothers are half Caucasian and half Chinese. For their entire lives, I've felt the judgment. When we traveled, when we went out to dinner, when we were at sporting events...it was always there. The quizzical looks, the comments, the questions. There are times I feel it to this day.

Admittedly, we definitely had an advantage over other mixed-race families, because my dad being a doctor afforded us some buffer from what others surely experienced. I often wonder how things would have been different for us if he weren't a doctor. I wonder what subtle, passive aggressive prejudices my dad and brothers have endured that I know nothing about. What I do know are the looks my mom got when she had all three of us with her and the questions about whose children she was "watching" while gesturing to my brothers. I know that those looks and those questions triggered a deep-seated defensiveness in me to want to protect my brothers at all costs that remains to this day even though they are both married, educated, successful individuals. I doubt that feeling of needing to step between them and any threat will ever subside.

So while I cannot begin to fully understand the experiences of those who've lived under constant threat of harm, and I will never pretend otherwise, I do understand a small piece of the anger, frustration, and fear.

I love this country. I'm incredibly proud to be a citizen, but the responsibility that accompanies such a title is that I must call out injustice. I must be willing to face the ugly, awful truths that are uncomfortable and hurtful and disgusting. I want the country I live in to own its mistakes and work ardently to create a space where racism is no longer tolerated.

Do better, America.

Happy Tails to you…

Proud Vegetarian!

I love celebrating dates and anniversaries for all kinds of events that have happened, and in keeping with that tradition, today marks me being a vegetarian for exactly HALF of my life!

After spending my teenage years dabbling in vegetarianism, I finally just reached a point where I couldn't eat meat any longer. Even when I was an omnivore, I never liked seafood - I've never eaten lobster or crab or shrimp or anything of the sort - and I was not a fan of beef. Typically, I rarely ate anything other than chicken and I always felt horrible about it. While there may be a variety of reasons someone chooses vegetarianism, my decision is based on my love of animals. That's MY why. Animals!

Back in 2015, C and I visited The Gentle Barn in California, which is an animal sanctuary. It was an amazing day and we got to visit with many kinds of animals there! I fell in love with a donkey and loved hugging the cows!

From now on, I'll be able to say I've been a vegetarian for more than half of my life and I'll be so proud to do so!

Happy Tails to you!