Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Where Have I Been?

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't done a post in a while.  If you're a client at the kennel, you may have also noticed that Hans and I haven't been around as much, and I want to take a moment to explain why.

Let's start with the happy news:

On May 30th, I gave birth to a darling baby girl, Anna.  She was 2 weeks and 1 day early and arrived via emergency c-section.  It was a whirlwind of events, but it was wonderful.  We spent a lovely 8 weeks together, and then I was ready to return to work, but my mom, who was supposed to watch her while I worked, was having severe back issues and couldn't manage.  So, I had to start making alternate arrangements.  That's when we got the bad news.

The bad news:

On July 14th, Hans and my anniversary, I got a call saying that my mom had been admitted to the ER.  She'd had an MRI to find out what was plaguing her back, and they'd found 2 masses on her spine.  Another MRI, a CT scan, and a biopsy, showed us that she had stage iv lung cancer.  Everything came to a halt.

Suddenly, I was left with the task of not just caring for a two month old, but also caring for my mother.

Since then, Mom has moved into our house.  Her dogs have joined our family pack.  Hans and I have kept busy shuttling Mom to and from doctor's appointments, caring for Anna, and simply taking care of daily life.  We've been working hard to stay on top of things at the kennel, and we still love being there, but sometimes family just has to come first.

Whether you're a loyal client, you read this blog regularly, or you're just passing by, I think you deserve to know what's going on.  All of the people who enter the kennel are more than just clients.  They're part of my family.  I miss spending time with my large, lovely family, and I would hate it if any of you thought that I wasn't around simply because I didn't want to be there.  I'll be there as often as possible, and I'll be thrilled to see you.

Note: Some of you may have seen a post on our Facebook page regarding Takethemameal.com.  This is a lovely effort by some friends of mine to try to get others to help out with some of our food needs.  If anyone is interested in assisting, visit: www.takethemameal.com.  The last name is Alexander, and the password is lungevity.  Thank you!