baraculous & barailliant

so here it is almost a week later & i'm still digging on the inauguration.  at least, i've learned to spell it!  wasn't it something?  it will be one of those questions so many of us will always remember, up there with "where were you when you heard JFK had been shot?  when diana died?  when barack was sworn in?".   i know some folks who went up to DC.  i've not talked to anyone - i have heard that it was really great.  very little to no complaining about the long lines & waits that were encountered & about the cold.  i heard also that the energy that day was phenomenal. sad i couldn't be there.

dad had a dr. appointment at MCV on tuesday afternoon & wednesday morning, so they spent the night in richmond.  i went down & got mom & dad tuesday morning.  i was so afraid we would miss it.  when we got to MCV to give the valet the car, joe biden was being sworn in & i knew for sure we couldn't get up to the 4th floor in time to obama get sworn in & i was uber-bummed.  as it turned out, though, the music (wasn't it beautiful?) & yo-yo ma were still playing when i arrived on the 4th floor.   the waiting room was crowded with drs. nurses, staff & patients are gathered around the tv.  i teared up as he took the oath & at the end, an involuntary & unplanned homer-like "woo-hoo" escaped from my mouth-  this was followed by much clapping in the waiting area.  i loved his speech.  my mom says she thinks obama was sent as a gift from god- that he was truly called to this.  perhaps...

i had the best visit with my mom & dad.  on the way back to williamsburg wednesday, we chatted away.  we talked about spirituality, how my parents' beliefs have changed in terms of god & religion, what it is like to be in your later 80's & toward the end of your life.  dad & i talked alot about his work & economic theory- the keynesians vs the friedmans.  i learned a lot- both about my dad & economic theory.  i love that i enjoy my parents & that they continue to be interesting to me.  

we were quite a group going out for dinner on tuesday night.  i felt like i was driving the short yellow bus.  we had danny with his cast & crutches, dad with his cane & his careful, slow steps & gigi (mom) who moves a bit more slowly these days & has difficulty seeing at night.  gigi & i got the giggles as we were leaving thinking about what we must have looked like.  

it's been quite a process doing more & more to help my parents over this past year and a half.  they were always very independent & enjoyed life.  they traveled a fair amount & had plenty of friends with whom they did things.  following dad's surgery & stroke in sept 2007, a lot more was required from us kids.  i have gotten closer to my parents as a result.  my brother is in oregon & my sister in illinois, so i do a lot of the ordinary or day-to-day stuff that might need getting done.  sometimes i have gotten impatient & then i try to remember- they did this with me.  they walked slowly so that i could keep up, they repeated themselves multiple times so that i could understand, they patiently explained things over again when i wasn't clear.  there is definitely a bit of grace being directed toward me as i learn to lead those whom i used to follow.   i hope there is grace on the other end, too.  

and so begins the dawn, as some go into the twilight...

it is very exciting to be so close to washington & soak up some of the pre-inaugural buzz.  i got a haircut on saturday & the stylist, who is from springfield, was planning to head up to washington on sunday to hear the music & soak up the ambiance.  from there it was onto my favorite (& only) yarn hang-out at the yarn lounge, where one of the regulars was talking about going.  she scored a ticket & was regaling us with the details of her clothing & her plan to stay warm.  it will be chilly after a few hours standing outside, although the sheer mass of humanity might provide some warmth.  i would absolutely love to be there & cannot imagine maintaining any sort of civil demeanor with the crowds.  it would be uber cool to soak up the energy & the hope as our long dark night draws to a close and a new era begins.  

this week saw the passing of two dear doggie friends. both were in somewhat advanced doggie years & had provided the companionship & love that only dogs can provide.  i have yet to lose a dog of my own as an adult- sadie is our first dog other than the dog i had growing up & he really belonged to mom.  i was told of the death of our family dog, buck, when i came home from va tech in my freshman year after a friend was murdered under some pretty horrible circumstances.  his passing took a back seat to the other events of that weekend.

this is a picture of sadie in her first year when she experienced the river for the first time.  i call it "unbridled joy."

i remember my brother's dog, leo.  leo was a huge, hulking specimen of a dog.  he had some german shepherd in him & was kind of the size of a small pony.  leo had a wonderful disposition, but was not especially blessed in the brains department.  he was loyal as they come & a wonderful dog for my niece grace as she grew up.  he allowed her to ride him, climb on him-  very patient with her.  i knew that any being that could get my  brother to say the word "walkie" with a straight face was a very powerful creature.  i would go to oregon at least every other year, sometimes yearly, to see my brother, tommy, out on the west coast.  he lived on the northwest coast of oregon, just across the highway from the pacific ocean.  i remember my last visit with leo.  he was having hip problems, as so many large dogs do, & on our walkie, he was dragging his back legs.  after that first arrival beach walk, i couldn't bear to walk him again for one of our long beach walks & witness the undeniable evidence of his aging years.  i cried the whole way back to tommy's house as i thought about leo not being there my next trip out.  & this year, as we left my brother's in portland, where he now lives, i bade a silent goodbye to louis (who is responsible for warming danny up to the idea that he could manage a dog).  just in case... so he would know what he meant to me on my annual treks out west- the ever faithful companion.   i found a wonderful quote about dogs today-    " Dogs' lives are too short.  Their only fault, really."  so i'll take just a moment to be thankful for the being that is dependent on us & asks nothing in return & also to honor homer russell brown & hannibal kubalak- they will be missed.  the pictures of these dogs are all dogs who have touched my life & taught me grace, as well as teaching me to ask for what you want (beg if you need to) loudly & without shame-  you just might get it!!

you think dogs will not be in heaven?  I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.

- robert louis stevenson

so much for new year's resolutions ....

oh well, i missed a few days, huh?  i've been busy trying to take care of danny as he recovers from his surgery. he's been on the camped on the couch downstairs since he came home the day after surgery.  he tried the stairs for the first time the other day- going up on his butt.  sadiedog, always deeply & directly honest, has been sleeping downstairs with him - i am definitely not feeling the love.  as of today, he is getting restless.  he's tired of tv & cannot concentrate long enough to really do some reading.  he returns to work tuesday.  he's been patient & relatively cheerful & generally it's been a pleasure to take care of him.  of course, there have been moments...  & we still have a ways to go...

now onto the next topic with no transition whatsoever....

look at these - aren't they fantastic?  they are 3-dimensional chalk drawings on the sidewalk of various places.  i first became aware of these when my friend cathy wilson sent them to me in an email.  a little bit of detective work on the web- never too hard to find things, eh- & i turned up the artist's name- julian beever, an british lad  they are pretty amazing, are they not?  these are just a sampling of what i found.  if you google julian beever, you can find many other examples of this very unique drawing style & venue.  

this year i resolve...

not a very original title for my first post of the new year-  i am guilty as charged.  this year i resolve to ...  be a more regular blogger.  i can benefit from the discipline of committing to post 3 times each week (4 times if something really cool or exciting happens).  of course, i have many other resolutions & self-challenges for myself this year, which i won't bore others or myself with right now.  two girlfriends & i used to have a yearly ritual- we met on january 1st or 2nd & reviewed with each other our goals for the year.  we also identified how we could help each other get there.  we kept one list & packed the other with our christmas decorations & when we unpacked the christmas decorations later that year, it would be a reminder to see how we did in meeting our goals.  we stopped doing this 2 or 3 years ago- i miss our annual gathering.  we would meet at barnes & noble & sip our coffee.

i'm finding myself missing a lot of things these days.  i'm feeling rather melancholy.  having spent a lot of time with my niece recently, i have found myself missing/mourning my lost youth.  in so many ways, i am appreciative of the acquired wisdom & confidence the years have provided me & ....  i do miss being younger & having all the possibilities ahead of me-    of course, i was not the lovely young woman my niece is (or my nephew, for that matter).  this is true also of my other niece, grace.  sadly, i do not see grace as often as i do my sister's kids (grace belongs to my brother).  grace, caitlin & daniel all enjoy a great relationship with their parents, are respectful to them & have lots of fun with them.  they have many common interests & share many details of their lives with their parents.  none of the above describes me at their ages.  i didn't really "get it" until my later 20's-  i was not always such a pleasant young adult when it came to my parents.  they definitely suffered some.  

i spent today at the hospital while my husband had surgery to fuse his right ankle.  

.  

both his ankles & his right leg were broken & shattered in an accident in 1986.  they were put back together with screws & pins.  it is amazing to all that he was able to walk reasonably, let alone run the 10 marathons he ran.  in recent years, he has turned to cycling due to the wear & tear on his feet.  he has been in chronic pain for roughly the last 20 years & is hopeful that the fusion will eliminate the pain.  i have attached some x-rays the dr gave me following the surgery- it looks barbaric, doesn't it?  danny will lose up & down range of motion in his ankle- he should still be able to cycle, though.  he will not be able to place any weight at all on his right leg for 5-6 weeks- we will have the opportunity over the next few weeks to spend a lot of time together!  he won't be able to drive for about 8 weeks-  that will be torture for him.   while i'm not the best driver, i'm certainly way above adequate.  he has a hard time being a passenger-  he'll get lots of opportunities for practice this year!  i'll be bringing him to work, but i told him he might need to adjust his hours- i know i can't get him there by 7:30-8a on a regular basis.  i am so trifling when it comes to mornings- well- that will be good practice for me too- won't it?!

BTW,  the object from the last post was a victorian flower frog.  i love the way i answer that question as though someone is reading!!  & the recipient loved it.  she did not know what it was, either.  it looked very much like a compote to me.  

so ends my 1st post of 2009.  & i'll end with a quote i found that seems appropriate.....

happy 2009- 

may your troubles last as long as your new year's resolutions!