Mondays

Sometimes I'd get married just to make some stories simpler to tell... This is one of those times.

Shortly after we got back from Troy, NY in April, my sister-in-law called and told us that her daughter, Scott's niece, was pregnant. It was good news, the family needed some good news after we lost Nova and then Randy, and the news of a new baby was just, well, good news. I got an email from my sister-in-law this morning with the worst sort of news... her daughter had a miscarriage on Saturday evening.

We've lived down here, together, for 14 years, and very rarely get to NY to visit, so I really don't know a lot of Scott's family. It makes it hard to know what to say or do right now. I don't know how she's taking it, whether I should call, or shouldn't call or... know what I mean? I don't know her well enough to know what the best thing for her would be. Her loss is weighing on my mind today. I've got a book I want to send her, specifically geared toward parents that have lost a baby to a miscarriage. I don't know whether it will be well received or not, but I feel like sending it is the right thing to do.

Then there's Montrachet.
I used to consider myself "an animal person." I used to verge on that "crazy cat lady" thing. I even went so far, even recently, to revive dead puppies and nurse newborn kittens to health with hand-feedings and intensive antibiotic treatments. When I was young, as all kids do, I cried over every pet who died, and I had lousy luck with pets, seriously. But when Alexis died, it sort of put things in perspective for me, and I haven't cried about a dead animal in many years, until last night, when I read that Belinda had to put Montrachet down. (background here and here) Last night I cried like a baby, not so much for Montrachet's death, because it was as painless and compassionate a way to go as one could ask for, but for Belinda's heartbrokenness. I have felt a real connection to Belinda ever since I read her post about her father. (Read that post, and the replies especially, and you'll understand the connection.) So last night, I sat here a cried wholeheartedly for her loss. You're still in my thoughts Belinda.


I've also been following the story of a boy named Corbin who has been in the hospital following his Fontan (open heart surgery) on April 13th. I have been very concerned about him, because so many of his after surgery complications have sounded familiar, and realistically speaking, the longer the hospital stay, the more difficult things tend to become. He's had his ups and downs, but last week he seemed to be doing very well. Yesterday the news was not so good, they're even discussing undoing what was done to repair his heart because his pressures are too high (I know that makes little sense to most of you, but it's bad news anyway) and to be honest, today I'm afraid for him. He has a carepage here, but you have to sign up to be able to read, it's free if you'd like to read his whole story. Anyway, all of your thoughts and prayers and well-wishes sure couldn't do any damage eh?

Mondays. Life. Too much damn death.