Minnesota and Dog Stress

I have a busy August - work obligations means no time off until after 8/15 barring an emergency and Aj and Emily's wedding is the 25th so we leave 8/21 for Boston. So I left Thursday 7/26 to see Mom. Alan had left for a family reunion in Canada (30 hour drive each way). That left Me, Richard and the dog home. Richard had work and volunteer obligations for the Lake County Fair. So the dog and I decided to make our way to Minnesota to see mom and help dad to the extent I can. In so many ways it was a tough weekend. The dog is extremely well trained but won't go potty outside of his normal areas. So I stop to let him out, he does one trip around the car and back in he goes. The weather is hot, so I worry the entire time I take a potty break about him being in there, cuz I obsessively worry - (yeah it is only 10 minutes, but he is getting old), and then we reached Minnesota. Well he had great joy, but little understanding of where his dad was. He looked everywhere. Every time I let him out I had to keep him from running to the dock - he decided that if dad wasn't in the house, he must be on the boat. I sleep in the living room with mom and so that was another change for the dog - he didn't understand why we weren't in the bedroom. My next dog is going to be less scheduled - it is like having a toddler. Then, my cousins came by on Sunday and my cousin had a sinus problem and talked like Herman Munster. Scared the living daylights out of the dog. He couldn't decide if he needed protection or he needed to protect mom and me. So we put a board up (1 1/2 feet high, he won't cross a barrier without permission). Dad decided to step over the board and fell (really hard). It was just a disaster from the word go.

Mom's illness continues to progress. It is very hard. That is difficult. The oxygen level has been moved up again to "4". Only 1 slot left on the machine to go higher. At the 3 her oxygen percentage was 84% on Wednesday. Friday her sats were 90. So a little better. She is feeling pretty sick right now. I am hoping hospice comes up with something to help her feel better. It is really tough. I won't get back now til after Labor Day. I am scared at what the changes will be - for me they are very apparent - because I am not there every day.

In the meantime, I got some great shots of the geese that this year have decided to make my parents house their home. The ducks have disappeared this year and been replaced with geese. Dad shoots a pellet gun in the air to scare them away. Said he is tired of cleaning up after them. After shooting off the gun, they swam away and headed for the neighbors a few doors down... where they hoped for safe landing. (That is them in the distance on the left). The ducks were certainly less messy.

I came home Monday the 30th. I stopped halfway to see Mom Helen and it was wonderful. Some day I need to write all those childhood memories down for my children. For tonight, this is enough.

p.s. 258 days until Alyssa comes home from Europe!