Pets Are Family Too...

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Some close friends of mine have been forced to end the lives of their beloved dogs recently due to terminal illness. I understand the pain and impossibility of that choice first-hand; I had to put my beloved Weimaraner, Cole, down for the same reason a few years ago. Pets are family members. Hell, in my home, pets are very nearly PEOPLE. Grieving the loss of a family pet is identical to grieving the loss of a human loved one. If you know someone in this situation, please don't ever say, "it's only a dog/cat"; most importantly, do not ever judge or condemn a pet owner for making one of the most difficult but HUMANE decisions of their lives. I am not an overtly religious person, but I do choose to take some comfort in believing that all dogs DO go to Heaven. In fact, I'm pretty sure they're all having a huge play-date together right now...



Cole

Addie

Bruno

Chloe

Monday, Monday...

I'm not one who appreciates/respects edicts, but this is one I could definitely follow:

Monday has never been my favorite day of the week; I would usually start dreading it sometime early Sunday morning. The self-punishing would follow Sunday night in the form of feverishly attempting to squeeze all of the chores I had planned to do over the weekend into the 8pm-Midnight slot. As a result, I religiously experienced the feeling of epic failure and my dread of Monday would increase exponentially. Yes, 'Monday', you win. I would imagine 'Monday' sitting back in all its glory, raising a glass and smiling condescendingly at having bested me yet again.

One might think that an unemployed person would feel differently about the "start of the week"; at least I hoped that would be the case for me. Alas, I still dread Mondays since they now represent all of the gainfully employed people in my life returning to their jobs and professional identities, while I sit at my kitchen table searching and applying to jobs with my professional identity waning by the day. Definitely not what I had planned on for this point in my life, but I will not let it beat me! Instead, I focus on weekends which are non-threatening/safe because my professional (employed) friends and family are available to have coffee, lunch, dinner or drinks and I'm not nagged by that feeling that I'm supposed to be at work. Who's raising their glass and smiling now, 'Monday'?

I feel a song coming on; let's close with a little Mamas & Papas today. =)

Click Here To Listen: Monday, Monday

We're Not In Kansas Anymore...

My plan to begin blogging in earnest was delayed a bit by Mother Nature Thursday in the form of tornadoes. Yes, you read that correctly, TORNADOES, plural. You must understand, we do not ever have tornadoes in upstate NY - it is literally unheard of - so to have three tornadoes touch down in a period of 30 minutes on Thursday is truly mind-blowing. I'm beginning to think Mother Earth has joined forces with Mother Nature to teach all of us a HUGE lesson, but we'll save that issue for another post. Here's an excerpt that shares some NWS details:

"The National Weather Service confirmed that three tornadoes touched down in Chemung and Steuben Counties on Thursday. All were categorized as EF-1 (defined as winds between 86-110 mph). ... The third and most powerful tornado hit Elmira near 4:00pm with winds up to 110 mph. The tornado touched down near Route 352, then moved through West Elmira, into downtown Elmira, then Church Street. From there the tornado tracked southeast towards Jerusalem Hill Road, where it finally lifted. The total track length was nearly 10 miles long."

You can see images of the damage and read the entire article here.

Needless to say, our town has been filled the last few days with the endless whirrrrring sound of chainsaws and the smell of fresh sawdust and pine needles permeates the air. Neighbors who don't typically take time to socialize are uniting to help each other clear limbs and debris from their yards and streets. Several thousand customers are still without power as the utility companies work tirelessly to restore service; the last estimate stated 95% of customers will have power restored by midnight tonight. The damage to homes, businesses, cars and streets is severe; clean up and repair is, and will continue to be, a monumental effort for some time to come. Our town is devastated, yes, but "things" can be repaired and replaced. The most important and extraordinary fact that we must not forget is that no severe injuries or fatalities resulted from our storm. I am beyond grateful for this and I hope everyone else is too.

UPDATE 08/08/12: Satellite Image Depicting Path of Elmira Tornado 07/26/12
Once again, grateful for no serious injuries or deaths!


Source: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/bgm/WeatherEvents/Severe/july262012/ef1_elmira.shtml

And so it begins...

Several people have been telling me that I MUST start writing a blog; here goes!

Disclaimer: I am not one who typically succumbs to peer pressure. However, due to the fabulous state of the economy, and a few other things beyond my control, I do find myself with some extra time on my hands; this seems like a potentially constructive way to spend it. I hope you will all agree. =)