Learning To Count

Hello Friends. And also any strangers who happened to land here today. Happy Thanksgiving. I know we have a few days still but let's be honest, the holiday starts when the cooking starts and that's usually today. 

If you're cooking. 

Which I'm not, but if I were I'd start today. 

Today. Whew. Actually it's been a whole entire weekend+ Monday, which is why there won't be a Hodgepodge post this week. I know technically this post is all over the place and feels very hodgepodge-y, but there's no official Wednesday Hodgepodge this week. The Hodgepodge will be back next week when we'll be in full on December mode.

Even though it will still be November. 

Life here is not dull. I feel like it should be a little bit dull because we're retired. Shouldn't there be days where we ask each other what do you want to do today and hubs says I don't know what do you want to do today? Yeah, that doesn't happen here. 

Saturday we awakened to a dog throwing up. Now I know this is something dogs do occasionally, but not our dog. Our dog is the Superman of dogs and has a stomach of steel. He was sick several times, and I gently suggested to hubs mid morning that maybe we should think about taking him in to the ER vet, but Tennessee was playing Georgia at 3:30 PM and hubs was not missing it. 

Except of course he did because the pup was pathetic and is his best bud. He made the 40 minute drive to the ER vet, then spent the next four hours waiting, seeing the doctor, and having the dog's blood drawn and belly x-rayed. Basically he missed the entire game which, if you're a Tennessee fan, wasn't such a bad thing. ahem. 

They did not see a blockage but of course nobody knows this dog like the hubs knows this dog, and he suspected the pup had eaten a paper towel (or two) when he was cleaning the grill on Friday. I read online paper towels can become like papier mache in a dogs belly but the doctors saw nothing on the x-ray. They did give him something that coats the stomach so when the dog seemed worse and not better on Sunday morning, it was back to the ER vet for another look. 

Offering here 1000 bonus points for anyone who can explain to me why these things always always always happen on a weekend or after hours. 

Sunday's visit revealed a blockage, which we were sure was a paper towel (or two), but as it turns out was a baby sock, size 12-24 months. Y'all my grandson was here two weeks ago which is a long time for a sock to be stuck in your dog's belly. 

All that to say, the dog spent Sunday night at the ER vet, so instead of getting ready to visit our daughter and her family this morning, we were waiting to hear how surgery went. Ugh! ugh ugh ugh. The worry. The irritation. The aggravation. The money. And of course the biggest ugh of all was the idea that I was not going to see my girl and her littles as planned. I was not going to be side by side with her in the kitchen as we chopped celery and made dressing and pulled out the good dishes. 

I wasn't going to get to see my grands open their Christmas pj's or help decorate their tree, or read stories snuggled up on the couch, or get great big hugs around the neck, and I'm going to be honest and tell you that on Sunday I had myself a little pity party. Maybe more than a little. 

But God is so good to give us new mercies every single day, so  I woke up this morning and I got a grip. I reminded myself the world is full of tremendous sorrows right now and this is not one of them. I talked to my sister who suggested we get a dinner to go from the grocery store and I had a new plan and a new outlook. Then I read this prayer first thing and it truly helped reset my outlook. And my 'in-look' too. It was posted by @cleerlystated on Instagram, not sure if I can share it without permission, so here's the link- A Prayer for Thanksgiving Week. 

Before too long the the vet called saying surgery went well. They would need to keep the dog for a few days because he also has a completely unrelated but significant skin infection and all that to say Thanksgiving is back on. 

I mean it was never off, but I let my mind travel down a road we are not meant to travel, and for a minute my normally grateful heart felt so completely Grinchy. Why is that so easy to do?

Making a list and checking it twice now...

I'm grateful today for modern medicine, for animals who worm their way into our hearts, for a husband who doesn't say 'snap out of it!', but instead lets me feel what I feel and offers hot tea, scrambled eggs, and a fuzzy blanket if I think it would help. 

I'm thankful for sisters who share my disappointments, who walk me through a plan B, who tell me I'm not being ridiculous when even I know I'm being just a little bit ridiculous. Sisters who love my girls and understand all the ways holidays and family go together. 

I'm so glad God loves me in spite of myself. That He keeps growing me up and into the person He created me to be. That He's not through with me yet. 

Grateful especially for this season that reminds me to count my blessings. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!