Dec 21, 2007

Prior to blogging, I kept a message board to keep up with friends and family through pregnancy and mommyhood.  I'm working on bringing those posts to this blog. 

Today was the Christmas party at Lisa's. A couple weeks ago, the kids drew names and we bought a gift for another kid ($10 value). 

Zach and I came to the party. Most parents couldn't be there- working, obviously. One other set of parents was there with their baby (Brooklyn, whome T calls Broccoli, and who was born premature and is now 8 months old and just hit 12 pounds). 

Anyway, Lisa gathers the kids around the tree. I think she had... 6 or 7 kids today. Anyway, Teagan was already up from her nap when I got there and was eager to find out which present was hers. She was so polite about it. Asked frequently but wasn't pushy or annoying about it. So Lisa starts handing out gifts. Each kid is getting a gift from her and then their exchange gift. She's passing out gifts as she pulls them from the tree. Then Teagan has none and every kids has 2. Teagan keeps politely asking. And she has this sad and worried look on her face. And it takes EVERYTHING I have to not jump up and take over for her. She is not upset but my heart is breaking because she's not getting the same treatment.

Lisa finally finds a gift for Teagan- the one from her. Teagan gets it but won't open it. She wants "2 gifts" because she sees that every other kid has 2. So she sits and waits. And waits.

Lisa has a family member (I think it's her MIL) who helps out several days a week. Nana Troudy. She has brought gifts for the kids and there is chaos as Lisa is handing those out. Another 2 gifts for each kid. Somewhere in there, Lisa finds T's exchange gift and hands it to her.

The gift from Lisa was Dora Memory which T has.

The exchange gift was a baby doll.

And Nana Troudy left Teagan's gifts at home.

Teagan... I watched her to see if she was going to catch on... and I could tell that she knew... and she totally was understanding that the gifts were forgotten... 

My baby was so excited to help the littler kids open their gifts. And she helped her close friends (Kyle, her BFF, and Kristina who is an older girl who is developmentally delayed) with their gifts and was so excited for them. 

She was disappointed in being forgotten but was so genuinely happy for the others... it warmed my heart. I wanted to jump in and fix the unfairness but instead, I sat back and let my daughter teach my a valuable lesson in what fairness really means.

Goodbye, Ginger

Prior to blogging, I kept a message board to keep up with friends and family through pregnancy and mommyhood.  I'm working on bringing those posts to this blog. 



My Ginger is gone.

She hadn't been herself for a few days. Sometimes not eating, seeming to maybe be in pain, sometimes having trouble with her legs. 

This morning, I got up with Zach at 3. Changed him, nursed. Ginger got up- very odd for her- and came out to the living room. Her back legs seemed to give out and she kind of fell to the floor. Couldn't get up after that. Labored breathing, swollen stomach.

I took her to the hospital and the vet diagnosed a flipped stomach. Surgery was an option but there was only a 50% chance it would work and there was a risk that it could actually end up being fatal.

I called Jeff and we discussed the options... really, there was only one option...

Ginger's gone. My beautiful girl. The most gentle and patient dog I've ever known. 

I know we made the right choice. She led a good, happy, full life (she was almost 9 years old). She was in pain today. I'm so sad to have to let her go but feel so blessed that we didn't have to go through her deterioration into old age or watch her wither away with a disease. 

I had no idea what to say to Teagan when she woke up today. We sat down and I told her that Ginger's body stopped working and that we wouldn't have a Ginger anymore. I know she doesn't understand. But she was sad and said "but I need her" several times. I'm guessing she will ask about her over the next few days or so... and I am sad to think that Teagan may not have strong memories of her own of Ginger. But we have lots of pictures and will keep her memory alive that way.

Goodbye, my beautiful girl. I'll see you at the Rainbow Bridge...