Lucy

Last night we said goodbye to our dog Lucy.  

In January we noticed she had developed a lump on her right front leg.  She began to lick and snitch at it, making it raw.  So we took her to the vet and it was diagnosed as a hot spot.  Common.  Antibiotics and spray were prescribed and we got a cone for her so she wouldn't bother it.

Time went by.  The lump got bigger.  She continued to mess with it, even with the cone, and it began to bleed.  She limped around and it seemed to bother her.  So Amy took her back to the vet.  It was a tumor of some sort.  We decided to have it removed so she could get out of the cone and return to normal.  That appointment was yesterday.

After school Amy called me.  The vet had called her midday.  They didn't like the look of the tumor, it had grown a bit in the week since they'd last seen her.  There were more, smaller ones, up her leg and on her chest.  A quick biopsy proved what we'd feared.  It was Cancer.  The tumor was inoperable due to it's size and the fact that it was a mast cell.  Removing it would only cause the Cancer to spread more quickly.  Given the other tumors it was likely they were present internally as well.  So the decision was made.  To help her.  To put her out of her pain and discomfort.  The humane choice, but definitely not the easiest. 

Amy had been having an uneasy feeling all week.  She seems to have a 6th sense for things.  Just one of her many awesome traits.  I guess I knew too, I just didn't want to think about it.  She had been more irritable toward us and the kids lately.  She had been sleeping a lot, was very lethargic, and just not herself.  It was time.  It was right.

So, Amy made the appointment with another vet and picked her up.  We brought the kids together with her and told them.  To let them say goodbye.  Braeden took it very hard.  Jackson, as usual, was just quiet and aloof about it.  But it will come out eventually.  He just processes differently.  The requested a picture with her, one last time.  Tearfully I obliged.  Amanda then took them so Amy and I could take her to the vet.

No details.  It was hard.  Very hard.  But it was right.

But in all things HE works for the best.  The funny thing is is that she was originally scheduled to have the surgery on Thursday, but I totally forgot and fed her breakfast.  Yikes.  This caused us to have to reschedule for yesterday.  HE knew.  Thursday would have been too hard.  This way we could have the time to say goodbye and mourn over the weekend without worrying about returning to school the next day.

She was an amazing dog.  10 years old nearly.  She's been with Amy and I our entire married life.  We got her in New Orleans after our first miscarriage.  She helped us through that.  She was with us when we needlessly evacuated from Hurricane Ivan, keeping us company for the 14 hour car ride.  She evacuated with us for Katrina.  3 moves.  3 children.  2 more miscarriages.  Road trips.  Vacations.  Good times.  Bad times.  She's been with us through it all.  

So it's odd not having her around.  Not having her underfoot when cooking and eating.  Not having her bound around the house.  Not hearing her snore loudly.  Not here to kick her water bowl and fuss to remind me she's thirsty.  It's different.  

Rex is doing better than we'd expected.  He knows something is different though.  He follows us around the house if we move.  Lays very near to us if we sit.  He was very attached to her too.  She was a great big sister.  We will see how he continues to handle it.  He is naturally an anxious and timid dog, so this will likely be something he has trouble with.  But we are all in it together.

Last night we prayed as usual.  We thanked Him for Lucy.  Thankful for the decade of crazy fun she brought to us.  Thankful for the unconditional love and loyalty she gave us all.  Thankful for her.  

So, here we are now.  Going on.  Moving forward.  Time will heal us.  Slowly, but it will.  She was a great dog.  She will be missed and forever loved.

All is well, mourning, in Drosche Land.

Lucy

The kids and their photo

No Small Parts

You know the saying.

No small parts, only small actors.  Well, I have no clue where it comes from or who said it but it has come to mean something here in Drosche Land.  

If you know me or have been following us here for any amount of time you know that Braeden has always, and I mean always, shied away from any kind of public performance  or attention.  All of his Christmas performances he refused to take part in, instead opting to cry and watch from afar.  His Pre-K graduation; same thing.  Boys dance?  Yep, same thing.  No matter what Amy or I bribed him with tried worked.  Ever.  The first time he willingly, and without tears, participated in something was last year in 1st Grade.  Yes, I'm serious people.  It was the Advent/Christmas concert at school.  He technically was one of over a hundred children at the front of the church singing and he wasn't in the front.  But I'll count it.  

The other parents always pitied us.  There I sat with my camera ready, watching whatever performance it was, with no kid to take a picture of.  Nope.  Sad huh?  We eventually got used to it and stopped worrying about the lack of documentation he would have later in life.  We just learned to accept it for what it was and hoped we'd be able to coax him across the stage at his high school graduation.

That was until this year.  Our school is putting on a Spring Play and students of all ages, 2nd - 8th Grades, were invited to try out.  Well, guess who wanted to give it a shot?  Yep.  I was floored.  Seriously?  For real?  Was I being punked?  Nope, no hidden cameras around and April 1 is far off.  This kid was serious.  He seriously wanted to try out.  So we obliged him.  Encouraged him to sign up.  Talking with him and let him know that auditioning didn't mean he would get a part.  But we were proud of him for doing it.  And we were.  Very.

Then the night before auditions came.  We were Rehearsing with him to prep him. That's when his nerves set in and he started to second guess himself.  We worried that he wouldn't go through with it.  I didn't mind one way or the other, but I was looking forward to the experience for him and the confidence boost it might provide.  But we talked, calmed down, and practiced more.  He was as ready as he was going to be.

So the day of the audition dawned and he was still set on trying out.  I'll be honest.  I was nervous.  The likelihood of him getting a a part was slim, I know.  But he is my baby still, even though he is growing up all too fast.  I didn't want him to be nervous, disappointed, or embarrassed.  But I couldn't do anything about it.  Just pray, sit back, and let him live his life.  My little man.  Lo and behold he went through with it.  One of my friends was one of the judges and I was told he did well.  Now we just had to wait for the casting to be posted.  

The day arrived.  It was up.  He didn't get an actual part, but he was cast as an extra.  Nothing fancy.  Nothing tremendous.  Well, not for anyone else.  But for us this was a huge milestone.  Now we wait for his time to begin practice.  Suddenly we are parents with a kid in some kind of extra curricular.  We knew we'd be here eventually since he loves sports.  But we were thinking 5th Grade.  Not 2nd Grade and certainly not play practice.  But such is life.  Just when you think you know what's going on, you're thrown a curve ball.  HE keeps it interesting for us, I'll admit that.  One day everything is going along normally and the next day we're living in the midst of an actor.

Oh, the part?  A squire in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.  Rest assured there will be subsequent posts with pictures!  Stay tuned.

What up!

All is well, inside the actor's studio, in Drosche Land.

   

Looking Back

So here we go. 

We're one full day into the new year.  So far, so good. But what about 2013?

How was yours?  Good?  Bad?  Memorable?  Forgetful?

I think that if I had to give 2013 here in Drosche Land a theme or key word it would have to be change.  Yes, change. I think I may have said the same thing about 2012 but according to the events of 2013 it bears repeating. Change. It happened here in Drosche Land quite often last year. Some was planned and some was a surprise. But all in all I think it worked out for the best.  His plans often seem to do. 

Stella continued to change our lives. That little girl taught us a lot.  Mostly about food allergies and how much they can bring about change for a whole family. Milk. Soy. Those two ingredients are in a lot more than you'd think. Amy and I were taken aback by her diagnosis. It threw us for a loop. Kept us on our toes. Forced us to think in new ways. Now, don't get me wrong. Stella's allergies are minor in the scheme of life, I am well aware that there are people with much more severe food allergies and much more severe, and frightening, reactions. But it still turned things here upside down. But we learned. Thanks to the tireless research by my wonderful wife, and her money-managing skills, we are all better eaters now. Healthier. Educated in just what goes into food and how much of it we just don't need.  I could go much further into detail about the healthy eating changes we have made and the goals we have for 2014, but that's a topic for another post.

Then there was the job change for myself. Leaving a job is never easy. Neither is the choice to leave the friends one has made while there. But His callings to us change and we must listen. So  I did.   I moved on and I have been joyously happy at my new school.  Which, as you may remember, is the same school where I attended and where Amy and I first met in 7th Grade. So this was a positive change.  It also meant a change in churches since I am a called worker in a Lutheran school. This was also a very positive change in our lives. So see, not all change is bad. 

There was also job change for Amy as she moved up to teach 2nd Grade this year. Yes, this was fearsome and unknown. However, it has also proved to be a positive change. She loves it. Who knew?  The woman who, as a college student, vowed to only ever teach in Early Childhood. The woman who previously taught Pre-Kindergarten and Pre-School before making the jump into Elementary. The woman who was the Director of an Early Childhood Program just a few years ago before deciding to re-enter the classroom.  Yes, this woman has turned out to possess a gift in teaching those 2nd Graders who once seemed so old. Not so much now that we have one in our very own family as Braeden continues to get older, despite our pleading for him to slow down!  :)  More positive change.

Then there was the decision Amy and I made to split the kids up between our two schools; Jackson attending Amy's school and Braeden and Stella joining me at mine. We were very nervous at first. Very hesitant at the thought of imposing division among them. But again, it has turned out to be a blessing as they have ally thrived in their new settings. It took a little while to get used to it all and to work in several schedules, but it has all worked out.

There is also a bit of change concerning Jackson that I have yet to blog about. Something we have been working through these past few months. See, Jackson has always been our active child. The one we refer to as "100% little boy". A blur. A whirlwind of activity and rambunctiousness. Well as he entered Kindergarten this year we began to worry. You can guess the acronym we have been discussing by now. Yes. ADD or ADHD. Something not unfamiliar to us as educators, but something completely foreign to us as parents. Again, my wonderful wife worked tirelessly researching. We opted to forgo any route involving medication. Not at first at least. Instead we have focused on food triggers.  Sugar. Artificial flavors and colors. Preservatives. Man-made sweeteners. These were already on the top of our list to limit and/or eliminate due to our research into food allergies. But now it seemed even more important to look into it all.  So we began to cut it out and limit it. We have noticed change. Some small. Here and there. But change nonetheless. We have also noticed what happens when we slack a bit or he gets ahold of these things in some ways. Wow. It reminds us of what we have learned and what eating habits we are changing an eliminating.  So again, changes that came with positive aspects. Also again though it is a long story and a long journey, one that will have to have its own post(s) now that I have broached the topic with you. 

Lastly there was one final change toward the end of the year. Yes, I'm talking about the adoption. Sure, this  is a change that will not be fully realized until partway through 2014, but the process or change has begun. It is here and the wheels are in motion. Next week Amy and I begin classes every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of January. Part of the process DePelchin requires. Nearly all of the paperwork is in. A homestudy is in the near future. Followed by matching and placing. Of course there has been, and will continue to be, tons of prayer along the way. Extra is always appreciated!

Well, there you have it. My somewhat long-winded recap of 2013.  A little bit of a different format than from years past. But I think I got my point across. Change. It isn't so bad. In fact, looking back nearly all of the change we went through in 2013 was positive or ended up providing us with positive results. I guess that means all in all it was a good year. Yeah, a good year. 2014 is shaping up to be just a great, better in fact. With just as much change of course!  Such is life. 

All is well, changing for the better, in Drosche Land.