Silver Lining?

 

 

Hello! I have returned. Thanks to those of you who have noticed that I stepped away from my blog for longer than I anticipated. The weeks since Halloween have been...full.

Full of celebration, full of stress, and full of many unexpected events.

* Thanksgiving this year, I hosted a lunch with my in-laws. On my menu to serve were turkey panini sandwiches and a shrimp potato soup. The sandwiches turned out wonderful. The soup? Not so much. I cooked it the day before. While reheating, it burned without my supervision. It was disappointing. I tried to make the best of it by quickly mixing up a batch of homemade mac and cheese.

I was glad to be the host of the luncheon that day. It was the first Thanksgiving in many years that we did not feel rushed and overstuffed. Dinner at my parents home that night was lovely, as it is every year.

* Gracie had a dentist appointment in the beginning of December. She needed a conscious sedation. I think I was more terrified of that day than she was. All went well, though, and she is smiling a little bit brighter now.

* Two weeks ago, Rocky, our oldest cat, passed away. He woke up one morning crying and limping. We were worried and took him to an emergency vet. They did many tests. They kept him overnight. The following day we waited for the ok to pick him up which never came. They wanted him to see a cardiologist (another $600 fee on top of the mounting $1900 we already incurred). We decided to bring him home, instead.

We were given a diagnosis of an enlarged heart and a slew of medications. He did not seem himself but the girls all petted him; tried to make him happy. The other cats came visiting and sniffing around.

The next morning, he died lying in our bed. We were a bit in disbelief and very sad to see him gone. He was a joy to have as a pet for the past 14 years. We will miss him every day.

* Yesterday, my grandmother tripped and fell into a corner of her sofa at home. A simple accident. She was taken to the emergency room because she was having trouble breathing. They found out she had fractured three ribs. We were all so worried for her. Thank goodness she was able to come home the same night to start her mending. 

* Then, today I walked out to the kitchen to find that my laundry room had flooded while a load of wash was running. It pumped out gallons of water, filling my laundry room, into the kitchen and out into the dining room. It was a complete disaster to clean up. Unfortunately, our wood floors may suffer the consequences for there is some damage that is already noticable.

However, 16 sopping wet towels and 12 hours later, the floors are dry and the washer is running smoothly again. Plus, since I had to move everything from the laundry room in order to clean up the mess, I plan on (finally!) repainting that room starting... tomorrow morning!

*Sigh* Enough of the gripe fest. I do kind of feel the universe is trying to tell me something, though. It is shouting to slow down, to not worry so much, to remember that the problems I face are minimal compared to what someone else may be facing at this very hour.

I have seen the silver lining in all the terrible disasters that have struck us these past weeks.

 Believe me, I hear you, universe. 

I just hope I have the sense enough to listen.