Xena, Warrior Princess and Sweet Little Chicken

Xena, Warrior Princess and Sweet Little Chicken

We said good-bye to our dog this morning.  She passed during the night lying next to Leo's bed.  She just didn't wake up.  She looked the way she had when I would have to go up and touch her to make sure she was still alive.  I'd been doing that for so long that when I walked into the room after Cathy discovered her, I almost asked Gene if he was sure she'd died.  She looked as sweet as ever and completely at piece.  Death had come for her while she slept...just like I'd asked.

I knew it was coming.  She was 14 and a half years old; already beating the odds for a Bassett Hound.  She'd been acting strangely for the past couple of days since we returned from vacation and something told me it wouldn't be long.  Last night I sat with her on the floor, told her I loved her and that it was okay to go.  I went to bed and prayed that she'd go on her own; that she wouldn't need any intervention from us (or the vet).  I'd been steeling myself for quite a while for this day.  But still...

We'll get another dog...or two...probably sooner than later.  If I had my way I'd wait but with two kids who have had dogs around them all their short lives, I don't think I have much of a choice.  I wonder if they'd be good with a miniature horse; I hear they live 30+ years.  Nah, a horse would definitely mark up the floors!  I hear birds last a long time too but then you have to have a bird.  No, I like birds OUTside my house.  This way when they start chirping you can close the window and block out the sound.

No, it'll be a dog.  I'd love to have a cat but I'm allergic, unfortunately.  It's a cruel joke to make a cat lover cat allergic, but so it is.  Yes, another dog.  But it won't ever be another Chickie.  She was, by far, the most gentle thing on Earth.  She'd bark on the front lawn at other dogs to KEEP AWAY but when the dog ventured near her, she'd roll over onto her back and quiver!  So funny!  That's where "Chickie" came from.  She was such a little chicken with other dogs that it just stuck.  A warrior princess she was not but that's okay.  Give me a Chickie over a Warrior any day!

The next couple of days will be hard on the kids and for us.  Cathy walks in the door and yells "Chickie!" without fail.  I think it will be a hard habit to break.  Leo, like Gene, would often give her a little pat and mutter "who's a good Chickie?" anytime he walked past her.  We told them about the meadow (you know, the one by the Rainbow Bridge?) and that helped.  They're kids; they'll get over it and move on...fortunately...but there will be days or moments when something will make them think of her and they may cry or want to, but then it will pass and life will go on...it always does.

So to wax poetic, farewell sweet Chickie, you will be loved for ever and ever and ever.  Tell Thorboy hello from us and have fun tipping over all those garbage cans 'cause Lord knows Heaven for Chickie is filled with tip-able garbage cans!!

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop

Holy Mother of God

So I started working out about six or so weeks ago with a group of women who actually pay someone to torture them for a minimum of 75 minutes which is usually, in actuality 90 to 120 minutes. They had been trying to get me to join them in their semi-weekly torture for the past year until I finally gave in and joined them on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend...appropriate as it was OH SO MEMORABLE!!! I was sore until Thursday and the name spoken more often then not was HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!

Actually, those words were spoken more during the workout then after! He was tough, this trainer named Des...very tough! But you know what? I came back the next Saturday and have only missed one workout since!

Everyone at one time or another works out, right? I mean, I'm not holding the holy grail in my hand screaming "I'VE FOUND IT, I'VE FOUND IT!!!" But maybe, in my own mind, I am! Never before have I actually wanted to go out and run after a long day to try and improve my breathing for workout or try to improve my stamina for a 5K. 5K?!??! What the...??? But I am and I'm really impressed, I have to tell you!

The other night I was headed out for torture and my daughter said, "I told you Mom, you're as skinny as a green bean and I don't want you working out anymore! You get too sweaty!!" Yes, yes I do! Sorry! I try to explain to her than even if I'm as skinny as a green bean (and by the way, I'd love to borrow her glasses to see THAT!) I am FINALLY feeling healthy and if I do this I'll grow old and watch what a great grandparent she'll be! She buys it long enough for me to get out the door.

So I do feel good; inside and out. I don't see any incredible change yet but I can feel it in there dying to get out! My intention is to stick with it and if I have to call on the Holy Mother at every workout, I just hope she listens at least once in a while!

~ Eileen Cassidy Bishop

Summer Vacation!

Summer Vacation...the stay-at-home-mom's nemesis

June 17th. The official first day of summer vacation.

Summer Vacation, 1977. Summer Vacation; what a beautiful time of year! Remember how we would begin dreaming of Summer Vacation in January (right after we stopped dreaming about Christmas)? Remember how we would yearn for Summer Vacation by March and be desperate for Summer Vacation by May? Like really desperate? We'd look out the windows of our classrooms while sweating our prepubescent butts off and fantasize about swimming in a friend's pool or going to the beach, or lounging in our tv room with the window air-condition blasting at "maximum high". We'd long for the piercing sound of the last bell of the school year to peel out and announce our long-awaited freedom. Yes, yes, I remember it well.

Summer Vacation, 2011. Summer Vacation already?! Seriously?? Weren't they just home for a week in the Spring? I'm not ready to entertain them for 12 weeks! I'm good for four, maybe five weeks then I'm going to have to either come up with some new material or start a loop and hope they don't realize it. They're young, they'll be thrilled with the repetition, right?

You know if it weren't for the mind numbing fear of their boredom, I'd be more excited about being with them for three Summer months. Really! I do miss them during the year when our daily interaction consists of nagging them to get dressed and eat their breakfast to nagging them to finish their homework to nagging them to go to sleep so they can wake up for school in the morning. I look forward to the occasionally lazy morning and living our days without a strict schedule. I like the fact that they're as happy with swimming in a pool as they are about going to the beach or, sometimes, sitting in the air-conditioned family room watching something completely un-educational on television. It's all okay; it's Summer Vacation!

I can't say I look forward to Summer Vacation these days the way I did when I was 12, but I have to admit that I don't dread it either. The older they get, the more I realize my time is limited with them. With them actually wanting to hang out with me and be satisfied with play-doh or bike rides or the water slide in the backyard...most of the time.

Look, I realize that by early August, "I'm bored" will be the phrase of the day and by late July I'll be rolling my eyes so much I'll be tripping left and right over my own feet, but for now, I have to will my optimism high though my itinerary is short and try hard to meet this challenge head-on! The biggest challenge will be NOT referring to it as a challenge!

It's all good, as they say. It'll all work out. Besides, if I remember correctly from 1977, Summer is over in the blink of an eye. Even I can handle that!

~Eileen Cassidy Bishop *