Bye Old House

The house at 2556 Congress is officially in the hands of someone else. It was a challenging last couple of days to get to closing and finally put an end to this long journey but it is a done deal now. The frustrations and annoyances of the last 2 days were in my mind avoidable but I have to always remember that others do not always operate in the same common sense world that I do. But even all the aggravations didn't take away from the fondness I will always have for my first house and my accomplishment to own that all on my own. Many great memories and even some ghostly haunts will remain with me always. As the number of foreclosures around my old house increase and the area invites more questionable characters, I just hope that I don't find myself driving through the subdivision and see my house in any state of disrepair. I am hopeful that the new owner takes as much pride in that house as I did and is determined to keep it in good condition.

Take care old house.....

The Adventures of Minnie the Pug

Minnie has led an adventurous life since the moment we picked her up at this little house in the middle of nowhere Indiana. She was raised in this house with a monkey, several other animal species, and a woman whose idea of stylish wardrobe included a t-shirt that read 'If I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you' (or something to that effect). She was the last of the litter to be bought and I still believe we got the runt of that litter. She has had parasites, rashes, seizures, and a mysterious limp - and she is only 2 years old. She also now barks at her food bowl if it gets to close to Ozzie's, if there is food behind the bowl, or if the bowl makes too much noise as she nudges it across the floor. We lovingly call her our special needs dog.

Her latest adventure basically gave me an immediate heart attack. I was working at Mike's sister-in-law Nancy's house during the day since we would be heading to Ashley's graduation that evening. We drove up to Winthrop Harbor that morning with the dogs in tow and Mike headed off to work. The dogs enjoyed playing with Snickers (or rather torturing the poor pup) and I managed to get some work done. Nancy and Ashley headed off for various hair, nail, and shopping excursions and I subsequently let the dogs outside to roam and do their business. Not 5 minutes later, I look outside to check on the dogs and I see Ozzie standing by the edge of their above ground pool looking down at a hapless, sad, and floating Minnie. She managed to get herself into the pool and on top of the solar cover (that looks like bubble wrap). I screamed and ran and was basically prepared to jump into the pool to save my little girl - but then thought wiser about it and realized that that level of dramatics wasn't really necessary. I was able to pull the cover towards me with Minnie aboard and pull her out. She then ran towards the house like nothing was amiss. After my shaking subsided, I continued to ponder how in the world she even ended up on the cover. Minnie is never one to jump in, walk on, or go near anything she isn't sure of - that is more of Ozzie's thing. And how she ended up safely on the cover and not in the bottom of the pool I will never understand. There are theories that Ozzie nudged her in with the hopes that he would be the only dog once again.

I am sure there will be many more Minnie adventures to come - it just seems to be in her nature. But hopefully the next ones do not threaten to stop my heart again!

Saving 2nd Base

I admit that before this past year, I don't know that I thought so much about breast cancer. Sure I am a woman and it should always be in the back of my mind somewhere but there was always this invincibility aspect in that nothing bad could ever happen to me. When I heard that Uncle Ken was diagnosed with breast cancer, I thought that while I know it is possible, it just didn't make sense. You really don't hear all that much about men getting breast cancer. My subsequent little scare in January made me even more aware that I am not as invincible as I might think. I am much more aware of any changes going on in my body. I think because of these 2 instances, the Avon 2 day walk carried even greater importance and value.

I know Mom has done the walk a few times and I always thought there was no way I could do that - walking 5 miles alone in the Walk and Roll was always just enough for me. But I was determined to do what I thought would be impossible. I can say that the walk was challenging, rewarding, emotional, and uplifting. I was amazed at the number of people walking and even more so how the overall event was put together. Although where was Reese Witherspoon???? The final 3 miles on Sunday were the most challenging - I really didn't think I would make it. But as I saw 2 women who clearly were going through cancer treatments or in the remission stages, I realized that if they could go through those painful and difficult steps to beat the disease, I could take the painful steps needed to get to the finish line. It made it that much more rewarding to cross that line and see the supportive, happy, and cheering folks along the way.

During the walk, we all laughed about the many names for breasts that one could ever come up with however I was also aware that it was very female centric. Wearing our 'We Ken Do It' shirts on Sunday and Mom travelling around with the Ken doll hanging outside her backpack prompted a lot of people to ask questions about what the doll and shirt was in reference to. I am glad that we were able to bring a little awareness to folks who may not realize that this isn't just a woman's disease.

I am incredibly proud of my mom and sisters for all that they did in advance of and during that weekend. I think the Avon foundation does great work and the grants they provided because of the money raised can only be positive steps towards treatment and maybe one day complete eradication of this disease.