November and December have been both frustrating and sad for me. To say that life brings brings twists and turns is an understatement. Because of that I haven't put any effort into my greeting cards, Etsy shop, fan page, blog or Twitter. Everything was put on the back burner.
In November I came down with a cold right before doing my one and only craft show. My daughter and I prepared for months and I wasn't going to let a cold get me down. I pushed myself through it, then relapsed the following week just a few days before Thanksgiving. I was even sicker the second time around and almost didn't make it to my family gathering on Thanksgiving day. It took several days before I finally felt healthy again.
A few days after Thanksgiving, on the evening of November 30, our computer hard drive crashed. We lost some stuff but fortunately I'd backed up all our photos onto DVD over the summer so we didn't lose a lot. I was able to retrieve most of the photos that weren't backed up from websites like Walmart because I'd uploaded them to have prints made. (phew!) I now refer to this as the Great Hard Drive Crash of 2009. We bought the computer in 2007 so it just goes to show, nothing is foolproof. Our computer repairman said they can die at anytime.
Because of the Great Hard Drive Crash of 2009, I had to put my Etsy shop in vacation mode for over a week. It also disrupted online Christmas shopping and bill paying. BUT it made me step back and change my priorities. Etsy was no longer there to distract me from my real world. It's always just been a hobby to make a little pocket money (no offense to those who view it as their main source of income). When Etsy was out of my life for that short period of time I watched TV shows and movies, read the Twilight book I've been picking up on and off since last summer, and cleaned my house. I went to the mall to do my shopping because I couldn't shop online (I hated that part!). After being offline for roughly 10 days we got the computer back and I'm trying not spend as much time online as I did before.
My husband's truck needed major repairs this month. There was no way around it. At that news I threw my hands in the air and said "I give up. I'm not going to stress out about anything anymore."
Then the worst happened.
On December 11, my husband and I brought our 18 year old cat to the vet. He had been diagnosed with kidney disease in October and we knew there was no cure. All we could do was maintain a good quality of life for him. We were diligent about making sure he got his meds and the best care we could give him. On that day in December he wasn't feeling well and I felt this could be it. The vet gave us the choice to give him some fluids to see if he perks up or put him down. We decided to try the fluids and see if we could keep him feeling well through the holidays. It took a couple of days but he did perk up and we had our old kitty back. He seemed happy and it was a blessing to have him with us. Sadly, that only lasted a few days. By the 18th it was clear that he was feeling worse than he had the previous week. DH and I had already discussed that we would not put him through anymore treatments because of his age. On the morning of December 19th, DH and I made the very difficult decision to let our kitty go. We let the kids (ages 11 & 14) say their goodbyes before DH took him to the vet. It was a very emotional day for me because it was also my 49th birthday. I cried most of the day. It's been one week and I miss my little buddy so much. He was our first 'baby'. He was older than my kids and was a very important part of our family.
So it's with much hope that I look forward to 2010 being a fresh start for myself and my family. Cheers.
Morton, 1991-2009
No comments:
Post a Comment