Missing in Action

 

Have you seen this woman lately? Almost sixtyish housewife who purportedly owns this blog? Newsflash... she's still alive!

Life has been pretty complex in and around as well as outside of the Microcosm.  These days.  Tasks linger undone, while other necessities are attended to.  It just seems that nothing has been well documented and time for blogging has slipped away.

First off, we were away for a week.  We take a vacation and spend it at the lake every year when our anniversary comes around.  With the passing of TBG's brother, the vacation took a back seat.  We spent the first five days at his brother's house, helping his siblings clear it out and get it on the market. It sold after three days.  The rest of the estate is being dealt with but this was a huge first step.  I have a lot of thoughts on things about my BIL's passing that I do hope to share as they are life lessons that are hard to take and perhaps blogging about it might help others avoid the pitfalls that made this such a sad time.

In addition to the sadness of Frank's passing, while we were staying with Tom's sister, we all learned their beloved dog (and my Teddy's best friend) has Osteosarcoma.  It's a painful and aggressive cancer.  When we left for home, we knew it was probably the last time we would see him.  My heart aches for the family.  Having just lost a beloved brother, now they face the unexpected loss of the one family member that provided the most comfort.

I've often thought how much better off we are with Teddy's cancer as it is not nearly as aggressive as Osteosarcoma (a bone cancer) or Hemangiosarcoma (which suddenly took our last dog).  We are nearing the second anniversary of Teddy's diagnosis.  The cancer probably kicked in and started taking over her immune system in the fall of 2018.  Here we are in the fall of 2020 and her latest bloodwork is improved over the previous cancer check.  In fact, her numbers are back down to where they were this past February.  Caring for her has been a lot of work, and I've made a few mistakes.  But at least she is still with us.  Tommy is now not against the prospect of chemotherapy when it's called for, but at this point it still doesn't seem to be indicated. I am heartsick over the fate her cousin faces.

I am slowly getting to things that have been neglected at home, while also trying to absorb some of the belongings we brought home from the house we cleaned out.  I finally got around to cutting my own hair today.  While I make time to clip Teddy once a week and bathe her three times per week, I don't get to cut my own and have the unusual problem of a head of hair that constantly seems to be growing!

But there is still so much to be done.  So forgive me if I either neglect posting or don't have as well thought out topics.  The country is in turmoil and many lives have been lost and others are either suffering or scraping to get by.  We are so fortunate for what we have and what we are able to do with.  I promise to get back to sharing more of it with blogland -- but for now please forgive me if I fall short.  I miss keeping up with everyone!