Miracle
We found her. Just when we were completely without hope and my parents had closed the garage door and I was about to slip on a dress for my friend Rachel's wedding rehearsal, we got a phone call. Animal control had a little dog with a red collar and a pink heart tag and they couldn't get close enough to read it, but they thought it was our dog. My heart jumped in my throat, I threw on some jeans and we flew out the door. My mom drove and Neil had the leash and pet carrier in the backseat. I tried to will the lights to turn green and my mom's foot to press harder on the gas pedal. We could not get there fast enough for me.
Animal Control is on the side of the animal shelter in Santa Fe. We got there and went in to find a room full of Animal Control officers and a woman on the floor with her back to us. In her lap, was our little dog. She was covered in burrs. There was not one part of her body that was white. She had burrs on her legs, her face, her tail...but when she saw us, she started wagging her tail. The Animal Control people helped us shave her to get all the burrs off and the shaving revealed lots of little cuts on her body. Her nose was dry and she seemed in pain but she was so happy that we were there and that the prickly burrs were being removed that she was calm while two people with electric clippers shaved her and I stroked her head to comfort her. Neil took her to the vet where she got checked out and stitched up and I went to the last few minutes of the wedding rehearsal.
Somebody had found Barbie in their backyard drinking their dogs' water. She was growling to keep the dogs away from the dish and was just drinking it like crazy. The man at the house could not get close enough to her to read her tag because she kept growling so he called animal control. We went to his house to thank him yesterday which felt really good. We also gave him $100 which he was reluctant to take, but said he'd donate to the animal shelter.
I still can't believe we have Barbie back. She looks like a mangy junkyard dog right now, but she's still adorable and she's started licking us again and all I can say is that it's a miracle. I don't often use that word and usually I don't think I believe in "miracles". But having my little five-pound dog home and alive after she was missing for five days during the heat of New Mexico summer with all the coyotes and hawks that live in Santa Fe definitely constitutes a miracle. There is no other word for it.
Wedding
Rachel and Brian's wedding was perfection. It was beautiful. They were beautiful. It made me cry. I felt pretty in my bridesmaid dress. The band was great. Everybody danced. The food was yummy. The flowers were awesome (oh how I wish I remembered to take my bouquet home). The cake was to die for. We didn't have to pose for too many pictures. We stayed till the end and wanted more. And two of my most favorite people got married. What an amazing couple. Oh, and it hailed for about five minutes... huge marble-sized hail in New Mexico in June...you can't get cooler than that.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
Gone
As if my weekend could stand to get any worse. After Neil hurt his foot Saturday and we spent three hours in the emergency room and he had to get crutches and be in pain and my heart ached for him, on Sunday, Barbie got out of my parents' backyard and got scared and bit my dad really hard when he tried to catch her and then she ran away.
I searched in the open space behind my parents' house for five hours Sunday. I was wearing sandals and my feet became coated in stickers and thorns. My skin got burnt in the sun. My voice went hoarse from calling "Barbie" over and over and over again. We hung up signs, we knocked on doors. We talked to every person we saw. Nobody had seen her or heard her. None of the walkers with large dogs had noticed their dogs sniffing or barking. She was gone.
Yesterday, we went back and searched some more. Nothing. We have an ad in the paper. My dad has been to the pound. He's called animal control. He's put posters all over the neighborhood. Nothing.
My heart is broken. Wiley keeps looking for his sister and he's not eating. Neil is not only hobbling around on his hurt foot, but I think he is even sadder than he's letting on. I miss Barbie. I miss her sense of humor, her enthusiasm, her affection, the way she licked my face like crazy every morning when I woke up and when I moved her away from my face, she licked Neil's instead. I don't know how to make Wiley happy again and I feel terrible that he is at home alone right now while I am at work.
I keep hoping that my phone will ring and someone will tell me they found her and she's fine and that I can come pick her up. But nobody has called. I keep hoping she'll show up in my parents' garage and drink the water and eat the food we put out for her... but the food is still there and the water bowl is full.
As if my weekend could stand to get any worse. After Neil hurt his foot Saturday and we spent three hours in the emergency room and he had to get crutches and be in pain and my heart ached for him, on Sunday, Barbie got out of my parents' backyard and got scared and bit my dad really hard when he tried to catch her and then she ran away.
I searched in the open space behind my parents' house for five hours Sunday. I was wearing sandals and my feet became coated in stickers and thorns. My skin got burnt in the sun. My voice went hoarse from calling "Barbie" over and over and over again. We hung up signs, we knocked on doors. We talked to every person we saw. Nobody had seen her or heard her. None of the walkers with large dogs had noticed their dogs sniffing or barking. She was gone.
Yesterday, we went back and searched some more. Nothing. We have an ad in the paper. My dad has been to the pound. He's called animal control. He's put posters all over the neighborhood. Nothing.
My heart is broken. Wiley keeps looking for his sister and he's not eating. Neil is not only hobbling around on his hurt foot, but I think he is even sadder than he's letting on. I miss Barbie. I miss her sense of humor, her enthusiasm, her affection, the way she licked my face like crazy every morning when I woke up and when I moved her away from my face, she licked Neil's instead. I don't know how to make Wiley happy again and I feel terrible that he is at home alone right now while I am at work.
I keep hoping that my phone will ring and someone will tell me they found her and she's fine and that I can come pick her up. But nobody has called. I keep hoping she'll show up in my parents' garage and drink the water and eat the food we put out for her... but the food is still there and the water bowl is full.
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Business
Today, tomorrow and Saturday, I will be working at my company's annual convention. 250 people in the industry will be arriving at the convention hotel today and then they will expect to be shown a good time. I am one of 11 people here to show them that good time. I have to dress business-like and act business-like and be business-girl. Tomorrow, we're going to a baseball game and I don't even think I can wear my traditional jeans and t-shirt to the game... augh. Business...
Sometimes, when I'm in the thick of it, going to meetings, picking up guest speakers from the airport, expressing my opinions on the importance of some new initiative or another, I think to myself, "I can keep doing this and some day I can be CEO or something and get paid a lot of money."
When I have my senses returned to me I think, "I have got to find a way to spend more of my time being creative and less of my time wearing suits."
Here's to three days of business.
Wish me luck.
Today, tomorrow and Saturday, I will be working at my company's annual convention. 250 people in the industry will be arriving at the convention hotel today and then they will expect to be shown a good time. I am one of 11 people here to show them that good time. I have to dress business-like and act business-like and be business-girl. Tomorrow, we're going to a baseball game and I don't even think I can wear my traditional jeans and t-shirt to the game... augh. Business...
Sometimes, when I'm in the thick of it, going to meetings, picking up guest speakers from the airport, expressing my opinions on the importance of some new initiative or another, I think to myself, "I can keep doing this and some day I can be CEO or something and get paid a lot of money."
When I have my senses returned to me I think, "I have got to find a way to spend more of my time being creative and less of my time wearing suits."
Here's to three days of business.
Wish me luck.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
Dead
Ronald Reagan died last weekend. Despite being an avid Democrat, I used to love Ronald Reagan. I had Reagan stickers when I was little and I idolized him. Perhaps it had something to do with my being so young that I had not yet developed a political consciousness. I just knew that you were supposed to look up to the president -- and he had a nice face and kind manner.
Because of my childhood adoration, I am unable to judge his presidency without bias. But whether he was good or bad or someplace in between, it is sad that he is gone.
Worse news came last night when I learned that a family friend killed herself over the weekend. To the younger and less self-assured person (me), Rebecca seemed to have it all. She worked as a writer for a magazine, had dated a member of the Chicago cubs, was skinny, beautiful, funny, fun to be around, kind, had an amazing family, lit up the room when she walked in...I wish she could have seen herself the way I saw her. I wish she was still alive. I hope her family finds strength to get through this. I wish there was something I could say, but as is sometimes the case, words fail.
Ronald Reagan died last weekend. Despite being an avid Democrat, I used to love Ronald Reagan. I had Reagan stickers when I was little and I idolized him. Perhaps it had something to do with my being so young that I had not yet developed a political consciousness. I just knew that you were supposed to look up to the president -- and he had a nice face and kind manner.
Because of my childhood adoration, I am unable to judge his presidency without bias. But whether he was good or bad or someplace in between, it is sad that he is gone.
Worse news came last night when I learned that a family friend killed herself over the weekend. To the younger and less self-assured person (me), Rebecca seemed to have it all. She worked as a writer for a magazine, had dated a member of the Chicago cubs, was skinny, beautiful, funny, fun to be around, kind, had an amazing family, lit up the room when she walked in...I wish she could have seen herself the way I saw her. I wish she was still alive. I hope her family finds strength to get through this. I wish there was something I could say, but as is sometimes the case, words fail.
Monday, June 07, 2004
It's Hot
On Saturday, we went to visit my family in Santa Fe. We took the dogs and hung out at my parents' house for a BBQ lunch. My brother is home for the summer and he and my dad are home alone while my mom visits family in Michigan. Lunch was good. My dad bought special salmon that you can only get three weeks a year from some famous river I've never heard of and it was delicious. We all sat and talked in the backyard for a while after lunch while my brother tried to get a screen door to fit on the outside door to his bedroom. Sawdust was flying all over the patio in the wind and Buffy, the Labrador retriever, tried to eat it. My dogs kept barking at Buffy and nipping at him. It was one big happy gathering. But then we went inside. First Dustin was on one couch, then Neil was on another and my dad was in the recliner and I found myself splayed out on the floor, resting on a big turtle pillow, flanked by two little dogs. It must have been 2:30. The next thing we knew it, it was 5.
There is something inherently unsatisfying by a heat-induced nap and I think it's that when you wake up it's no cooler than it was before you fell asleep. However, the nap was not without its merits. There is something very cool about napping with company. Whether it's just me and Neil napping or whether it's a group nap like we had on Saturday...even though everyone was sleeping, when we woke up it felt as though we had shared something. We were all guilty of mid-afternoon laziness. It was much more satisfying than waking up from a nap alone and feeling like you are the only one who slept the day away. Group napping alleviates the guilt of the nap. It normalizes it. Napping in groups makes napping ok.
Clearly I have given this a bit too much thought...
It's going to be a hot summer and I foresee more naps in my future -- hopefully, when I nap, I will have company.
On Saturday, we went to visit my family in Santa Fe. We took the dogs and hung out at my parents' house for a BBQ lunch. My brother is home for the summer and he and my dad are home alone while my mom visits family in Michigan. Lunch was good. My dad bought special salmon that you can only get three weeks a year from some famous river I've never heard of and it was delicious. We all sat and talked in the backyard for a while after lunch while my brother tried to get a screen door to fit on the outside door to his bedroom. Sawdust was flying all over the patio in the wind and Buffy, the Labrador retriever, tried to eat it. My dogs kept barking at Buffy and nipping at him. It was one big happy gathering. But then we went inside. First Dustin was on one couch, then Neil was on another and my dad was in the recliner and I found myself splayed out on the floor, resting on a big turtle pillow, flanked by two little dogs. It must have been 2:30. The next thing we knew it, it was 5.
There is something inherently unsatisfying by a heat-induced nap and I think it's that when you wake up it's no cooler than it was before you fell asleep. However, the nap was not without its merits. There is something very cool about napping with company. Whether it's just me and Neil napping or whether it's a group nap like we had on Saturday...even though everyone was sleeping, when we woke up it felt as though we had shared something. We were all guilty of mid-afternoon laziness. It was much more satisfying than waking up from a nap alone and feeling like you are the only one who slept the day away. Group napping alleviates the guilt of the nap. It normalizes it. Napping in groups makes napping ok.
Clearly I have given this a bit too much thought...
It's going to be a hot summer and I foresee more naps in my future -- hopefully, when I nap, I will have company.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
The Backyard
Last night, I spent a lovely two hours in the backyard. It was just me and my two dogs taking in the sunset and early twilight. I sat in the lounge chair and noticed the temperature change from hot to warm. When the crickets started chirping, Wiley and Barbie went hunting for them, but gave up quickly when their noses hit the rock wall that the bugs must have been hiding beneath.
I chatted on the phone with several different friends and even conversed briefly with my dad. I read the mail, mostly junk. And saw the moon come up above my house full and bright.
Two hours passed.
Then I saw Neil through the sliding glass door. He opened the door for me and I FINALLY got to go inside.
Yep, that's right, my backyard adventure was more along the lines of backyard exile. Brilliant Jodi locked herself and the dogs out of the house. I had a key to the mailbox, the back gate, my grandma's house, my parents' house and my office. But I was mysteriously missing my house key, my garage door key and my car key.
It had been a while since I'd spent so much time just existing outside. I have been walking and bike riding, but not just sitting. While, I was thoroughly annoyed at my stupidity and desperately wanted to get indoors, I also enjoyed my time outdoors. I watered the trees, smelled their flowers and actually relaxed since there was nothing else I could do.
Errand for the weekend: Invest in a spare key. Find a good hiding spot.
Last night, I spent a lovely two hours in the backyard. It was just me and my two dogs taking in the sunset and early twilight. I sat in the lounge chair and noticed the temperature change from hot to warm. When the crickets started chirping, Wiley and Barbie went hunting for them, but gave up quickly when their noses hit the rock wall that the bugs must have been hiding beneath.
I chatted on the phone with several different friends and even conversed briefly with my dad. I read the mail, mostly junk. And saw the moon come up above my house full and bright.
Two hours passed.
Then I saw Neil through the sliding glass door. He opened the door for me and I FINALLY got to go inside.
Yep, that's right, my backyard adventure was more along the lines of backyard exile. Brilliant Jodi locked herself and the dogs out of the house. I had a key to the mailbox, the back gate, my grandma's house, my parents' house and my office. But I was mysteriously missing my house key, my garage door key and my car key.
It had been a while since I'd spent so much time just existing outside. I have been walking and bike riding, but not just sitting. While, I was thoroughly annoyed at my stupidity and desperately wanted to get indoors, I also enjoyed my time outdoors. I watered the trees, smelled their flowers and actually relaxed since there was nothing else I could do.
Errand for the weekend: Invest in a spare key. Find a good hiding spot.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Iowa
In Iowa, they don't put fences up in the backyards. Instead, everyone's yard is one big lawn for little kids to play on. This is the main thing I noticed about Iowa while there for four days last weekend. There are rolling hills, lots of green, and communal backyards, save one or two yards with fences -- but the fence owners look like the party poopers.
Iowa is quiet and farm-filled and I imagine it being a very nice place to grow up or to raise a family, but I'll take my desert life over a life in Iowa any day.
Wedding
I was in the great state of corn fields and The Iowa Writers Workshop with a higher purpose. I went to wear a little pink dress and stand up in Jenn's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. Jenn had thought of everything and even the place cards, with little dance steps printed on them, were perfect. My roll in the wedding (walking down the aisle, posing for pictures, attending events, smiling) went well. I think I fulfilled all the bridesmaid commitments. Even the shoes were more comfortable than I imagined and I ended up dancing more than I normally do at such occasions. Looking at the pictures that we had developed on Sunday, I didn't look particularly thin in the dress. I imagined myself to look a little better while I was wearing the dress... but oh well.
I got to see Patty and Sean which was awesome and great and worth every penny and any inconvenience. I also saw our friend Scott for a brief moment when he drove to the party from Chicago. Reuniting with old college friends was very good.
On our way home, we got stuck in Denver overnight after multiple delays and a mad dash through the Denver airport. It took us more than 24 hours to get home from the time we set foot in the Eastern Iowa Airport. At first I was really pissed and I thought it may not have been worth the trip. But thinking a little more rationally, I think the reconnecting with old friends made it worthwhile as did one moment on Saturday night:
Jenn and Bill's first dance was to a U2 song. Since I was seated at the head table, I had an excellent view. In the eight years I've known Jenn, I don't think I've ever seen her happier than she was during that dance. I don't know Bill very well and I haven't had the chance to see the two of them together much, but watching that dance and seeing the happiness radiate from them, I knew that my friend Jenn had made a really good choice in Bill. And knowing that made the whole weekend a success.
In Iowa, they don't put fences up in the backyards. Instead, everyone's yard is one big lawn for little kids to play on. This is the main thing I noticed about Iowa while there for four days last weekend. There are rolling hills, lots of green, and communal backyards, save one or two yards with fences -- but the fence owners look like the party poopers.
Iowa is quiet and farm-filled and I imagine it being a very nice place to grow up or to raise a family, but I'll take my desert life over a life in Iowa any day.
Wedding
I was in the great state of corn fields and The Iowa Writers Workshop with a higher purpose. I went to wear a little pink dress and stand up in Jenn's wedding. The wedding was beautiful. Jenn had thought of everything and even the place cards, with little dance steps printed on them, were perfect. My roll in the wedding (walking down the aisle, posing for pictures, attending events, smiling) went well. I think I fulfilled all the bridesmaid commitments. Even the shoes were more comfortable than I imagined and I ended up dancing more than I normally do at such occasions. Looking at the pictures that we had developed on Sunday, I didn't look particularly thin in the dress. I imagined myself to look a little better while I was wearing the dress... but oh well.
I got to see Patty and Sean which was awesome and great and worth every penny and any inconvenience. I also saw our friend Scott for a brief moment when he drove to the party from Chicago. Reuniting with old college friends was very good.
On our way home, we got stuck in Denver overnight after multiple delays and a mad dash through the Denver airport. It took us more than 24 hours to get home from the time we set foot in the Eastern Iowa Airport. At first I was really pissed and I thought it may not have been worth the trip. But thinking a little more rationally, I think the reconnecting with old friends made it worthwhile as did one moment on Saturday night:
Jenn and Bill's first dance was to a U2 song. Since I was seated at the head table, I had an excellent view. In the eight years I've known Jenn, I don't think I've ever seen her happier than she was during that dance. I don't know Bill very well and I haven't had the chance to see the two of them together much, but watching that dance and seeing the happiness radiate from them, I knew that my friend Jenn had made a really good choice in Bill. And knowing that made the whole weekend a success.
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