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I would like to share with you some pics of the things that help me to cope with the pain and the loss of the things that I can no longer do.
My cats, Baby (15), and Priss (8), are a very big part of my life. I adopted Baby in 1991 from an SPCA shelter, two days before she was to be euthanized. I acquired Priss in 1997 from a friend in the US who needed to find a home for her because of a new baby in the house. They both seem to know when I need a warm furry heating pad, and just where they will do the most good. They share my bed, Baby under the covers and Priss on top, which doesn't leave much room for humans.
When I first moved to my present location, the neighbors had a beautiful Border Collie mix named Samantha, sort of a "community" dog. "Sam" soon adopted me as a part of her family, and started spending hours with me while her owners were at work or school. If they were going away, they would arrange for us to provide for Sam, and she knew when she was to stay with me. The morning they were leaving, she would be at our door at 7 a.m., ready to move into her "other" home. But during the summer of 2004, we learned that Sam has inoperable cancer, and we didn't know how long she had. Sadly, in early 2005, Sam's owners decided the time had come, and had her put to sleep.
That led to my partner going to our local animal shelter, where he fell hard for a beautiful Boxer mix, with a sleek tan and white coat and intelligent chocolate brown eyes. When we inquired about adopting her, we learned that she had been abused - she had been left outside with no food, water or shelter for three weeks or more in the coldest part of the winter, and when she arrived at the shelter, she had injuries to her nose, feet, legs, and one of her teeth. Because of her past and her breeding, I was very apprehensive about adopting this dog, but my fears were soon put to rest.
Lacey has proven to be a wonderful addition to our family. She is very intelligent, loving and gentle. I have heard that a smart dog has the intelligence of a 3 to 4-year-old child, and Lacey has been the proof of this. She tries hard to talk, and if you listen closely, you can hear her saying "Mama", "out", and "yes". She has her own signs for "please" and "good", and she knows that the only piece of furniture she is allowed on most of the time is "her" chair, unless she has been outside and gotten chilled, and then she can get up on the sofa with me to get warmed up. I have also taught her that caramels and toffees are to be chewed before they are swallowed - no easy feat when you are dealing with a dog with a very well-developed sweet tooth and the general tendency of all dogs to gulp soft "tidbits", but she actually chews 6 to 8 times before she swallows!
Lacey and the cats get along very well, and it is so cute to see this large 75-lb dog going nose to nose with my two cats (8 and 12 lbs respectively) for headbutts and kisses! She also adored Sam, and played nursemaid to her on the days that Sam wasn't as steady on her feet as she could be. As you can see from the pic of the two of them, they were nearly inseparable from the time that Sam came over to visit until she went home again. If Sam went out, Lacey had to go too, and vice versa. They shared food and water dishes, and if Mama was paying attention to one, I had to pay attention to the other at the same time.
With all of this animal companionship, I am never alone, and I have a never-ending supply of amusement around me.
I use my ability to craft to not only save money on gifts for friends and family, but also as a distraction therapy. When I am working on a pattern or graph, or in my flower beds or vegetable garden, I am concentrating more on what I am doing than on how I am feeling and how much I hurt. Of course, this leads to times when I do too much, but I am working on recognizing my limits.
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