Last week, KZ and I were with one of her friends. The girls were running down the sidewalk on Central Park South playing Red Light/Green Light. The girls, both 4, stopped to look at a man dressed as the Statue of Liberty. I know these guys want money, and can get kind of nasty if you don't give it to them.
"Girls, let's not talk to the Statue of Liberty," I said.
KZ just rolled her eyes.
"Mom that is not the Statue of Liberty. That is a man pretending to be the Statue of Liberty," she said.
They then continued with their game of Red Light/Green Light.
I guess they told me.
______
It's been cold here in New York City -- Chicago cold. The temps have been in the low teens with wind chills sub zero. I wanted her to wear her coat, boats, hat, scarf, and mittens. She did not.
"KZ, please put on your mittens," I said, while negotiating with her to put then on.
"Mommy, it is not mittens, it is MIT-TINS. Make sure you say the T's and the final S," she said.
I just started cracking up. Soon she is going to be correcting my pronunciation of everything.
Speech therapy is paying off.
______
Every now and then KZ still has a night time accident. I needed to wash her sheets the other day. While I was putting the sheets in the laundry, she asked me why.
"You wet the bed, Honey. I need to wash the sheets."
"I didn't wet the bed," she said.
"Oh, really, then who did?"
She thought about it for a minute.
"Jake."
"Really, Jake, not Kaycee?"
Jake is our male Shih Tzu and Kaycee is our female Shih Tzu.
"Mommy, Kaycee has a bad knee. She couldn't have climbed the ladder up to my bunk bed. It had to be Jake,"
I loved the logic.
______
Friday, 25 January 2013
Friday, 11 January 2013
A New World Preschool
I found out today that KZ's school now has an armed guard at the entrance. I'm not sure what I think about this. In one sense, I have a sense of safety. In another, I don't like having a gun in a preschool environment.
KZ's school is located in a church, but not any old church. All day it offers services to the community in the form of AA meetings to soup kitchens. You name it, they do it. They even do things that I didn't know had a name ... like over eaters anonymous for teenagers. I'm sure there is a demographic, but I didn't realize that large of one on the Upper East Side. From day one, I was a bit skeptical of who could walk into her school because I was skeptical of who could walk into the church. Sorry, but I am talking about a place where I leave my four-year old all day. I can be skeptical.
But after the Sandy Hook Massacre, I went from skeptical to the point of panic attacks when I dropped her off.
I don't think that the average person going into that church will have a weapon of mass destruction. But, if someone who wanted to do a copy cat entered the school, the students and staff wouldn't stand a chance. Now we have a guard, checking all of our school issued IDs, with a gun at the entrance. I pray that that he stays very bored for the next six months.
And if not, that he is a good shot.
KZ's school is located in a church, but not any old church. All day it offers services to the community in the form of AA meetings to soup kitchens. You name it, they do it. They even do things that I didn't know had a name ... like over eaters anonymous for teenagers. I'm sure there is a demographic, but I didn't realize that large of one on the Upper East Side. From day one, I was a bit skeptical of who could walk into her school because I was skeptical of who could walk into the church. Sorry, but I am talking about a place where I leave my four-year old all day. I can be skeptical.
But after the Sandy Hook Massacre, I went from skeptical to the point of panic attacks when I dropped her off.
I don't think that the average person going into that church will have a weapon of mass destruction. But, if someone who wanted to do a copy cat entered the school, the students and staff wouldn't stand a chance. Now we have a guard, checking all of our school issued IDs, with a gun at the entrance. I pray that that he stays very bored for the next six months.
And if not, that he is a good shot.
Monday, 7 January 2013
Happy Birthday to Me
This morning, the first thing Jeremy said to me was "Happy Birthday" and gave me a big hug and kiss. That would have been really nice, except, today is not my birthday.
For those of you who care, it is tomorrow, but I will celebrate until February 8 just in case anyone is confused or late.
I love my birthday and I love to celebrate my birthday. However, this has been a bit of a challenge my entire life. Note, I was born in Chicago, in the dead of winter, exactly two weeks after Christmas. My mom claims it was the coldest day of the year in Chicago. When I looked that up via our internet gurus, it turned out that the coldest day of 1966 was January 29, with a low temperature of -19°F. Mom wasn't that far off. And considering she was in labor with her first child, I'm betting it felt a lot colder than it actually was that day. She was later elated to find that she had given birth to me on Elvis's birthday. Much later, I was more excited to realize I shared it with David Bowie and Stephan Hawking.
Since the weather in Chicago usually was terribly cold and snowy, I didn't have a lot of birthday parties. Most people really didn't want to bring their kids out in the nasty weather, and mom wasn't excited about having a house full of kids in our tiny home. As I got older, we didn't even discuss the option of a party. I did like to do things like go out to dinner, the movies, and get a gift or two. But I would then hear things like,
"But we just bought you all those Christmas presents!" or
"You celebrate your birthday like a Russian wedding. It just goes on for days and days!"
How my mom knew the details of a Russian wedding I'll never know. But I did know that I envied the kids with September birthdays. They got parties and presents.
When I was pregnant with KZ, some wise person told me,
"It's all about you now, but once the baby is born, it is all about her. People won't even remember your birthday."
And true to form, my first birthday after having KZ, no one remembered -- not Jeremy, not my parents, not even one email. Jeremy and I were in New York City, looking for apartments. We had been told days earlier that we needed to move to New York from London. KZ was with my parents in Florida. I got up the morning of my birthday, had breakfast with Jeremy in New York, then took a flight down to Florida. While having dinner with my parents in a local pizza place, it came on the TV news that today would have been Elvis's 74th birthday. My parents just stopped eating and went silent. My dad then said, "Hey, how about we pay for the pizza today for your birthday."
Ok, dad, how about.
Jeremy only remembered two days later when I asked him if he had forgotten anything lately. It took a bit of work, like telling him what the date was. He tried to make a few lame excuses, but once he got it, he said, "Sorry, I just forgot."
Since that birthday, he's hit the date, but just cannot seem to get my age correct. For some reason, he keeps thinking I'm a year older than I am.
I guess that is why I look so good for my age in his eyes.
For those of you who care, it is tomorrow, but I will celebrate until February 8 just in case anyone is confused or late.
I love my birthday and I love to celebrate my birthday. However, this has been a bit of a challenge my entire life. Note, I was born in Chicago, in the dead of winter, exactly two weeks after Christmas. My mom claims it was the coldest day of the year in Chicago. When I looked that up via our internet gurus, it turned out that the coldest day of 1966 was January 29, with a low temperature of -19°F. Mom wasn't that far off. And considering she was in labor with her first child, I'm betting it felt a lot colder than it actually was that day. She was later elated to find that she had given birth to me on Elvis's birthday. Much later, I was more excited to realize I shared it with David Bowie and Stephan Hawking.
Since the weather in Chicago usually was terribly cold and snowy, I didn't have a lot of birthday parties. Most people really didn't want to bring their kids out in the nasty weather, and mom wasn't excited about having a house full of kids in our tiny home. As I got older, we didn't even discuss the option of a party. I did like to do things like go out to dinner, the movies, and get a gift or two. But I would then hear things like,
"But we just bought you all those Christmas presents!" or
"You celebrate your birthday like a Russian wedding. It just goes on for days and days!"
How my mom knew the details of a Russian wedding I'll never know. But I did know that I envied the kids with September birthdays. They got parties and presents.
When I was pregnant with KZ, some wise person told me,
"It's all about you now, but once the baby is born, it is all about her. People won't even remember your birthday."
And true to form, my first birthday after having KZ, no one remembered -- not Jeremy, not my parents, not even one email. Jeremy and I were in New York City, looking for apartments. We had been told days earlier that we needed to move to New York from London. KZ was with my parents in Florida. I got up the morning of my birthday, had breakfast with Jeremy in New York, then took a flight down to Florida. While having dinner with my parents in a local pizza place, it came on the TV news that today would have been Elvis's 74th birthday. My parents just stopped eating and went silent. My dad then said, "Hey, how about we pay for the pizza today for your birthday."
Ok, dad, how about.
Jeremy only remembered two days later when I asked him if he had forgotten anything lately. It took a bit of work, like telling him what the date was. He tried to make a few lame excuses, but once he got it, he said, "Sorry, I just forgot."
Since that birthday, he's hit the date, but just cannot seem to get my age correct. For some reason, he keeps thinking I'm a year older than I am.
I guess that is why I look so good for my age in his eyes.
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Knock Knock
My little New Yorker just told me her first knock knock joke.
KZ: "Knock Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
KZ: "Harriet"
ME: "Harriet who?"
KZ: "Harriett it up, I got things to do!"
KZ: "Knock Knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
KZ: "Harriet"
ME: "Harriet who?"
KZ: "Harriett it up, I got things to do!"
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
New Year, New Runners
I went for a perfect eight mile run this morning. Ok, perfect in the sense that it is January 1. It was cloudy, a bit chilly (in the 30's), and a bit windy, but all things considered, no ice or snow or gale force winds. I was healthy and I was happy.
I expected Central Park to be quieter at 9 am than it was. I saw plenty of happy dogs chasing balls, happy tourists reading maps, and happy runners doing what they loved best. What I was surprised to see, and shouldn't have been I guess, was the disproportionally large number of new runners. Since I was on the outer six mile path, there weren't as many. But when I passed the Reservoir, or the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir to those who are not familiar with Central Park, it was so crowded, I didn't know how people were actually moving. The Reservoir's path distance is approximately one and a half miles, offering beautiful views of the city's skyline. It's perfect for a new runner. I actually thought a lot of people would be sleeping off their New Year's Eve celebrations, and start their New Year's Resolutions on the weekend, or next week Monday. But no, there they were.
I've been running for approximately twenty eight years, consistently. I wish all these new runners only the best and I hope to see them on the path in six months.
I know I'll be there.
I expected Central Park to be quieter at 9 am than it was. I saw plenty of happy dogs chasing balls, happy tourists reading maps, and happy runners doing what they loved best. What I was surprised to see, and shouldn't have been I guess, was the disproportionally large number of new runners. Since I was on the outer six mile path, there weren't as many. But when I passed the Reservoir, or the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir to those who are not familiar with Central Park, it was so crowded, I didn't know how people were actually moving. The Reservoir's path distance is approximately one and a half miles, offering beautiful views of the city's skyline. It's perfect for a new runner. I actually thought a lot of people would be sleeping off their New Year's Eve celebrations, and start their New Year's Resolutions on the weekend, or next week Monday. But no, there they were.
I've been running for approximately twenty eight years, consistently. I wish all these new runners only the best and I hope to see them on the path in six months.
I know I'll be there.
Monday, 31 December 2012
A Tribute to Andrew Quainton from His Mother Cathy
The below was written by our dear friend Cathy Quainton. The first paragraph was her post on Saturday, Dec. 29 on Facebook. The rest she sent to me in an email on Dec. 30. Her son Andrew passed on Christmas Eve. He was 36 and lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. He survived the Twin Towers attack in New York City on 9/11, and decided he wanted a change of pace. It seemed as if Fairbanks was perfect for him. I fine her strength amazing, and her words poetic. With Cathy's permission, I am posting this as a tribute to Andrew.
____________
My incredibly wonderful son, Andrew Quainton, was declared brain dead on Christmas Eve. I was with him for three days while recipients were found for his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. All organs have been accepted for transplant. Andrew was so blessed to have lived in Fairbanks for nine years, and made the most marvelous friends whose outpouring of love is inspiring. Over 100 attended the memorial Friday night, and a summer six-month memorial is planned where all of the family will attend. These are days made blessed by so many memories shared, with laughter and tears and lots of hugs.
____________
My incredibly wonderful son, Andrew Quainton, was declared brain dead on Christmas Eve. I was with him for three days while recipients were found for his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. All organs have been accepted for transplant. Andrew was so blessed to have lived in Fairbanks for nine years, and made the most marvelous friends whose outpouring of love is inspiring. Over 100 attended the memorial Friday night, and a summer six-month memorial is planned where all of the family will attend. These are days made blessed by so many memories shared, with laughter and tears and lots of hugs.
Andrew had so many friends here. Angelee and Murray in particular
have been amazing, scooping me up, inviting me to Christmas Day dinner
with their family, organizing the memorial, reading prayers of departure
before Andrew was taken to the OR, driving me to the funeral home,
finding a realtor and probate attorney, and helping in so many other
ways. They have provided my safety net, literally sweeping clear the
path before me. They came back with me from the hospital when all was
done, and we shared stories and laughter, wine and food.
Angelee is putting together a book from the photos shared at
Friday's memorial gathering at Gambardella's along with the letters
people wrote. One of Andrew's friends recorded Murray's and my comments
which I believe will be posted as well. Andrew is coming home with me
and will rest on the soon-to-be-built shelving in the fireplace niches.
What I am calling the Andrew Reliquary is taking shape and would I
think delight him.
Andrew's friends are also organizing a six-month memorial where all
of his family can join his friends in remembering Andrew. Every summer
Andrew set up The Pavilion in the back yard, one of those tents with
the mosquito netting where he would set up 3 chairs, a table, his radio
and books and basically spend the summer once it was warm enough.
People knew to come around to the back yard and he would always be
there. It is a wonderful way to remember him. Before the house is sold
they'll scoop up the tent, chairs, etc. and set up in whomever's yard
unless of course one of his friends buys his house in which case it will
be here.
There were over a hundred people at Andrew's memorial. I spent
ten minutes talking with the mayor, several from the city counsel,
numerous political friends, folks from the museum, the University
Chancellor, a slew of lawyers, the Pride friends, fellow workers at the
Interior AIDS Association, much of the Opera Fairbanks team, and many
from KUAC, the NPR station here which Andrew loved dearly. He was one
of their top donation gatherers during the twice-yearly appeals, where
his encyclopedic knowledge of opera and contemporary classical music
(Philip Glass, Arvo Part, etc.) brought in some of the biggest
donations.
Andrew was inducted into the Art Buswell Society at KUAC and also
won the Spirit Award one year. The Art Buswell pin was on the lamp next
to his bed. I took it to the funeral home yesterday and it will be
with his ashes. I think that would make him very happy.
I have learned about the power of prayer and by extension affirmed
the existence of He who hears prayer. We are so blessed to have a
loving and benevolent God. He also granted my prayer that any damage to
Andrew's organs be healed (there was concern about heart damage). When
the time came, everything was fine and depending on whether there is a
heart/lung transplant or those organs go to separate recipients, four to
five people will have new life. I feel a profound joy in that final
gift.
I am still adjusting to the 3-hour time change, but I have always
loved visiting Andrew during the winter. It is so incredibly beautiful,
but also I missed the -40 temps of a few weeks ago. That isn't fun by
any means. I am also driving here for the first time, and fearlessly
walking on the snow cover. The trees are still flocked from the
snowfall 2 weeks ago as there is very little wind. It truly is a
wonderland.
Cathy
2012 - Suckiness with a few Silver Linings
The
word to sum up 2012 is, sucks. I usually try to focus on "the good"
and "stay positive" because "everything has a reason", but this year
just sucked. I know there are plenty of people out there who would
say, "I'd love for my life to suck as bad as hers." Fine, say it, but
it still sucked. The year started off last January with the daughter of
one of Jeremy's friends being killed in a freak car accident. The year
has ended, so far, with a dear friend of ours losing her son in a freak
Christmas Eve accident. And so many tears in between for our nation.
There is a hole in our hearts that only time can heal, but we will never
be the same again.
I don't want anyone to stop reading this to go search for their vodka. Some of the sucky things that happened to us personally could "have a silver lining." Therefore, I'll call this, 2012 suckiness with a, hopeful, few silver linings.
Silver Lining I
In March, while we were in Rome for the first time ever, which was amazing and beautiful and everything else it should be, KZ's then school sent home a note saying that she should see a speech therapist. All along we had been told that she was "fine". "Children develop at different rates," we were told. "Don't worry." But now, the school felt that she should see a therapist. The therapist felt that we should have her hearing evaluated. We went to Weill Cornell because they "really know how to evaluate children." As I sat there, expecting to be told that KZ was just three and acted as a three year old acts. I heard an entirely different story. KZ was 50% deaf in each ear. She heard as if she was underwater. I was stunned ... and angry at myself for not catching it earlier. All the doctors told us it was not our fault, but still, here we were. She was turning four soon and couldn't hear. Honestly, the fact that she was doing as well as she was was pretty amazing.
Surgery, speech therapy, a new school, tutors to try to catch her up, working with her night and day, but at the same time trying not to turn her off and make her hate us or learning, was our life. "This is fun, isn't it KZ!" Instead of just letting her organically catch up, we had to work at it desperately because she needed to take her ERBs, the LSATs of kindergarten here in New York City ... I'm not joking. She took the test, and scored off the charts on the non-verbal, and average on the verbal. I was thrilled. "She's AVERAGE and hasn't even been hearing fully for six months at the time of the test!" No, not so good in New York City. Average doesn't make it. Now the schools may think that she has a learning disability because the scores are so far apart. She may need special services, which they don't have. They would prefer not to take a chance rather than have their rankings look bad. They don't want to take a chance on a student who they may "counsel out" (kick out), in a few years. Where we are at to date: KZ has to have what is called a neuro psych evaluation. This is done to let the schools know that she either is just fine, or, that she does have something and what that something may be. If the schools think they can work with what she may have, then great. If not, well, then she may have to go to a school which offers the special services. The neuro psych starts in January.
Silver Lining -- If some special service is needed, we will find out about it now, at four and a half years old, and we can address it. The experts feel that she would be all caught up by second grade at the latest, and then can join one of the schools that have empty spaces from the children who are being "counseled" out. If she doesn't have anything wrong, great, we've proven it. I'm not sure if I hate this city or love it. If my brother had been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD at four instead of in high school, he would have had a much different educational, and maybe life, experience overall. Many, many people in NYC have told me that their children were caught early and have gone on to be successful adults. I know this is true. Right now, it is just the unknowing. We applied to thirteen schools and, if we are lucky, may get into one of them ... the one that offers special services and is an hour one way to commute to each morning. But hey, it's better than not having the option.
Silver Lining II
While everything was going on with KZ's hearing, Jeremy decided that he should have his hearing checked. I always told him, "You are either half deaf or just ignoring me." Net/Net, 90% deaf in one ear, 10% deaf in the other. As in the Z Bear's case, there was a surgery to fix his hearing. He only had it done on the ear with the 90%. The worse part for him was that he had to stay calm, not raising his blood pressure, for a solid week so not to damage the ear. Also, he couldn't workout or run for a long time. He did his first run on Dec. 30 without having issues. The surgery was in May. The worse part for me, his ear surgery was the day before KZ's. Of course, KZ was jumping from the window ledge to the sofa the day after her surgery. Jeremy, not so much.
Silver Lining -- At least now I know he really is ignoring me when he doesn't respond.
Silver Lining III
In June, Kadou started acting a little bit too lazy even for a Shih Tzu. I took him to the vet who, who after multiple tests, diagnosed him with multiple myeloma, giving him approximately 18 months to live. I had a trip planned to Yosemite with KZ and a friend from London the next day. Ten days later, while I was in California, Kadou passed. Jeremy handled everything on his own, and didn't even tell me until I dropped off the car at the San Francisco airport. I cried on the flight all the way home. KZ was a sweetheart. She said, "I'm sad, but I'm really sad for Jake. They were best friends, who would Jake play with?" My little one just turned four years old, could just hear, and insisted that we find Jake a friend at a shelter. We found Kaycee (who was already named), an eleven and a half year old female Shih Tzu, who fit perfectly into our family. We were told that the owner moved and couldn't take her. Not that many people are willing to adopt an older dog, but she was a perfect fit for our family. Our vet thinks that the previous owner "moved" to an assisted living home. Kaycee was too well taken care of to have been dumped for a better apartment, so to speak. No one can replace Kadou, but Jake now has a new best friend.
Silvery Linings -- 1) Kadou did not suffer. 2) We saved two dogs, Kaycee and Jake. I don't know if Jake would have made it without a friend. 3) KZ showed how empathic she was. 4) We did not get the Hantavirues in Yosemite, which hit exactly when we were there!
Silver Lining IV
As some of you know, I've not updated my blog lately. I didn't post during Hurricane Sandy. Not because nothing happened, but because so much was happening I just didn't have the time. I didn't post about the Massacre at Sandy Hook, because it was too close to home. We didn't know the victims, but have friends who did know the victims personally. I must say, I wasn't the best support. I just cried way too much as they told their stories. I haven't posted about the school process for KZ, because I really do want her to get into a school. But I have been writing, and writing a lot. I'm going to have a lot of material to post once KZ gets into a school.
Silver Lining -- I just may have enough material to write the "Devil Wears Prada" (movie, not book version) of the kindergarten process here in New York City.
I don't want to sound ungrateful for the many good things that did happen this year. One thing being that Jeremy is cancer free and doing great. Another being that we did get KZ a piano and she took to it like a duck to water. She takes lessons twice a week, for an hour at a time, and pays attention. She even practices! She had her first recital and nailed it. I'm not worried that there is something wrong with her. She's great, loving, and can speak her mine. Our job as parents is to make sure she is the best KZ she can be. We take our work seriously.
We have wonderful family and friends whom have supported us and us them. Thank you all for being there. May 2013 be a much better year for all of us, even if your 2012 was great.
Love, good health, and peace to you all,
I don't want anyone to stop reading this to go search for their vodka. Some of the sucky things that happened to us personally could "have a silver lining." Therefore, I'll call this, 2012 suckiness with a, hopeful, few silver linings.
Silver Lining I
In March, while we were in Rome for the first time ever, which was amazing and beautiful and everything else it should be, KZ's then school sent home a note saying that she should see a speech therapist. All along we had been told that she was "fine". "Children develop at different rates," we were told. "Don't worry." But now, the school felt that she should see a therapist. The therapist felt that we should have her hearing evaluated. We went to Weill Cornell because they "really know how to evaluate children." As I sat there, expecting to be told that KZ was just three and acted as a three year old acts. I heard an entirely different story. KZ was 50% deaf in each ear. She heard as if she was underwater. I was stunned ... and angry at myself for not catching it earlier. All the doctors told us it was not our fault, but still, here we were. She was turning four soon and couldn't hear. Honestly, the fact that she was doing as well as she was was pretty amazing.
Surgery, speech therapy, a new school, tutors to try to catch her up, working with her night and day, but at the same time trying not to turn her off and make her hate us or learning, was our life. "This is fun, isn't it KZ!" Instead of just letting her organically catch up, we had to work at it desperately because she needed to take her ERBs, the LSATs of kindergarten here in New York City ... I'm not joking. She took the test, and scored off the charts on the non-verbal, and average on the verbal. I was thrilled. "She's AVERAGE and hasn't even been hearing fully for six months at the time of the test!" No, not so good in New York City. Average doesn't make it. Now the schools may think that she has a learning disability because the scores are so far apart. She may need special services, which they don't have. They would prefer not to take a chance rather than have their rankings look bad. They don't want to take a chance on a student who they may "counsel out" (kick out), in a few years. Where we are at to date: KZ has to have what is called a neuro psych evaluation. This is done to let the schools know that she either is just fine, or, that she does have something and what that something may be. If the schools think they can work with what she may have, then great. If not, well, then she may have to go to a school which offers the special services. The neuro psych starts in January.
Silver Lining -- If some special service is needed, we will find out about it now, at four and a half years old, and we can address it. The experts feel that she would be all caught up by second grade at the latest, and then can join one of the schools that have empty spaces from the children who are being "counseled" out. If she doesn't have anything wrong, great, we've proven it. I'm not sure if I hate this city or love it. If my brother had been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD at four instead of in high school, he would have had a much different educational, and maybe life, experience overall. Many, many people in NYC have told me that their children were caught early and have gone on to be successful adults. I know this is true. Right now, it is just the unknowing. We applied to thirteen schools and, if we are lucky, may get into one of them ... the one that offers special services and is an hour one way to commute to each morning. But hey, it's better than not having the option.
Silver Lining II
While everything was going on with KZ's hearing, Jeremy decided that he should have his hearing checked. I always told him, "You are either half deaf or just ignoring me." Net/Net, 90% deaf in one ear, 10% deaf in the other. As in the Z Bear's case, there was a surgery to fix his hearing. He only had it done on the ear with the 90%. The worse part for him was that he had to stay calm, not raising his blood pressure, for a solid week so not to damage the ear. Also, he couldn't workout or run for a long time. He did his first run on Dec. 30 without having issues. The surgery was in May. The worse part for me, his ear surgery was the day before KZ's. Of course, KZ was jumping from the window ledge to the sofa the day after her surgery. Jeremy, not so much.
Silver Lining -- At least now I know he really is ignoring me when he doesn't respond.
Silver Lining III
In June, Kadou started acting a little bit too lazy even for a Shih Tzu. I took him to the vet who, who after multiple tests, diagnosed him with multiple myeloma, giving him approximately 18 months to live. I had a trip planned to Yosemite with KZ and a friend from London the next day. Ten days later, while I was in California, Kadou passed. Jeremy handled everything on his own, and didn't even tell me until I dropped off the car at the San Francisco airport. I cried on the flight all the way home. KZ was a sweetheart. She said, "I'm sad, but I'm really sad for Jake. They were best friends, who would Jake play with?" My little one just turned four years old, could just hear, and insisted that we find Jake a friend at a shelter. We found Kaycee (who was already named), an eleven and a half year old female Shih Tzu, who fit perfectly into our family. We were told that the owner moved and couldn't take her. Not that many people are willing to adopt an older dog, but she was a perfect fit for our family. Our vet thinks that the previous owner "moved" to an assisted living home. Kaycee was too well taken care of to have been dumped for a better apartment, so to speak. No one can replace Kadou, but Jake now has a new best friend.
Silvery Linings -- 1) Kadou did not suffer. 2) We saved two dogs, Kaycee and Jake. I don't know if Jake would have made it without a friend. 3) KZ showed how empathic she was. 4) We did not get the Hantavirues in Yosemite, which hit exactly when we were there!
Silver Lining IV
As some of you know, I've not updated my blog lately. I didn't post during Hurricane Sandy. Not because nothing happened, but because so much was happening I just didn't have the time. I didn't post about the Massacre at Sandy Hook, because it was too close to home. We didn't know the victims, but have friends who did know the victims personally. I must say, I wasn't the best support. I just cried way too much as they told their stories. I haven't posted about the school process for KZ, because I really do want her to get into a school. But I have been writing, and writing a lot. I'm going to have a lot of material to post once KZ gets into a school.
Silver Lining -- I just may have enough material to write the "Devil Wears Prada" (movie, not book version) of the kindergarten process here in New York City.
I don't want to sound ungrateful for the many good things that did happen this year. One thing being that Jeremy is cancer free and doing great. Another being that we did get KZ a piano and she took to it like a duck to water. She takes lessons twice a week, for an hour at a time, and pays attention. She even practices! She had her first recital and nailed it. I'm not worried that there is something wrong with her. She's great, loving, and can speak her mine. Our job as parents is to make sure she is the best KZ she can be. We take our work seriously.
We have wonderful family and friends whom have supported us and us them. Thank you all for being there. May 2013 be a much better year for all of us, even if your 2012 was great.
Love, good health, and peace to you all,
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