Life Cycle

We have not yet reported an incident that greatly affected our family about 6 weeks ago. Jack, our white, fluffy, character of a dog said his final goodbyes to this world. He has had a rough couple of years as we've seen his eyesight and hearing deteriorate along with his arthritis increase and a his mind go haywire. He was having a really rough couple days that led us to talking more about how we needed to assist his departure when we woke one morning to find that he had had a stroke. We looked into his eyes and no longer saw him there. We were confident that it was time.

Jack came to Rodney in 1992 while Rodney was in college in New Orleans. He was a pound puppy that was about 1 year old. He was all white fluff and TONS of personality. Rodney tells this great story about leaving the pound and having to chase Jack through the streets after he ran away from him. Jack hid in an older lady's backyard for a while before Rodney found him. After that they couldn't be separated.

Jack never used a leash. He followed Rodney to classes and hung out outside the the buildings. When they moved to Seattle, they lived in a very tiny studio apartment that Jack protested about. He tore up the carpet at the front door trying to get out. If I remember correctly, Rodney had a hard time getting in the door that day with the carpet rolled up behind the door. At one of his later houses, Jack knocked down some shelving and broke through a screened window to get outside. He then hung out in the front yard waiting for Rodney to come home for the day. When I met Jack, he still preferred to be outside during the day, socializing with any passersby who was willing to stop and pet him.

When he passed, we believed he was 16 years old and had been with Rodney for 15 of those years. It was a hard transition for all of us. Murphy had a couple days of confusion and has been spending the last few weeks renegotiating his status in the family. I don't think any of us realized how far down the pole Murphy was relegated as we took care of Lucy and Jack. Lucy doesn't have an emotional connection that has caused her to grieve but she does continue to talk about him and include him in her play. It's actually really sweet and good for all of us.

About the same time we were saying goodbye to Jack, we discovered we were pregnant. Yep, another one is on the way and due in May. It has been a rough first trimester for me physically and mentally as I started a new job right before I realized I was pregnant. I've since told my co-workers and boss and have apologized for my weirdness during the first couple months in the job. I laugh wondering what they must have thought about my forgetfulness.

Lucy is getting lots of opportunities to talk about babies as one of her friends got a new little sister this past summer and two more friends will have babies at their houses in the next few months. No, we did not all talk about this together and make a plan but I'm sure there is some group thought affecting the outcome. Also, Lucy hangs with Baby Yuuma a couple times during the week. She is 6 months old now so Lucy is learning a lot about how to take care of a baby. We'll see if all these skills are remembered when it is her own world that is turned upside down.

SO...stay tuned for all the quirky experiences that pregnancy brings to a family. We've already had some funny observations from a toddler's point of view.