Checking in

..into a Mental Hospital, you ask?? Nope, not quite yet. (heh heh)

Just getting back to normal after the glitz and sparkle of Vegas. (Gawd, I love that word!) Sitting in the Vegas airport, waiting for our plane to load, Shawn went and bought me a magazine for the trip...... Caribbean Travel & Life.

One word....... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

One question...... When do we leave?

So we're just getting off one vacation and I'm already planning and drooling over the next one.

We'll see.

What else? Oh, Shawn's Birthday was celebrated this past weekend. Dinner with my parents on Friday night, fight night with the boys at the house on Saturday and birthday pie and presents on Sunday. His actual birthday was Monday, so he got the weekend package deal. Cole wanted to go fishing like last year, but it was a bit too cold. I just hope Shawn had a great time :)

Cole ended up getting sick Friday night and into Saturday morning. He was fine the rest of the weekend, didn't eat much but no biggie. He helped me garden Sunday afternoon and then went to the park to really wear him out! But he woke up at midnight, he had gotten sick again.

Monday was a "stay home" day. We went to see Dr. Mickey in the morning and she said that everything looked OK, that he just had a virus. He was the 3rd patient she had seen that morning with it. Bleh.

So back home we went, on the couch with some liquids and cartoons. He was asleep within a half hour.

It was a gorgeous spring day outside, so I took full advantage of it. I couldn't go to work, I couldn't go anywhere..... so I went out in the sunshine in my yard. Ahhhhhhh....... I had my coffee buzz, I was productive, I was edging, I was weeding, I was pruning, I was cleaning out by the rhodies and that's when I had my own little melt down. Coulee.

There was his little spot in our garden, under the rhodies. Little purple wildflowers growing all around him. It was surreal - 2 months ago, I was out here in February in the cold and the damp, digging a whole in the ground to place him in. Out here on my hands and knees in my snow coat with my gloves and little hand shovel digging a final resting place for him. It was therapeutic in a way - doing all the work myself, putting my sweat and many tears into his final resting place. The grey sky looming overhead and tiny sprinkles falling on my back. But it had to be done. He had served me so well and now it was my turn, it was the least I could do.

So here I am again, the same spot, but a brighter and warmer day. I still miss him terribly. This hurt has taken a long time to dissipate. I know with Spring here, I will miss him even more - he was always with me when I was gardening and doing yardwork. Always. Pest-like at times, wanting to be petted and paid attention to. And I always found the time.

Some of you may not understand, "he's just a cat" you're thinking. But think about if your Dog was gone. Coulee was my "dog".

I didn't intend for this post to be so somber, I apologize. Spring is here and I'm loving everything about it !!!!!!! Go out and smell those Lilacs!!!