Light

It was one helluva day at school, if you will pardon the potty mouth.

We had to evacuate the school during first lunch because of an incindiary incident in a stairwell close to my classroom.  My colleagues and I had just sat down to our lunch when the fire alarm went off.  We all waited just a beat, thinking that we would be told to stay put, that it was just a false alarm.  But the loud speaker message didn't come, and somehow we knew without being told to get to the kids immediately.

We took them outside to wait, and I have to admit, for having their social and feeding time interrupted, they were model citizens. 

The smoke and fire extinguisher residue lingered in the back hallway, so students were prohibited from using it for the rest of the day, but we were able to return to business as sort of usual. 

My brave colleagues who put out the fire were told they should go to the doctor to check their lungs.  That meant classes needed to be covered.  I cheerfully took the Texas History teacher's class and ran two classes in my room at once.

Just another day in paradise, right?  My carefully crafted lessons flew out the window.  We even went ahead with our scheduled meeting after school with a member of admin. 

At the end of the meeting, I found two boys harassing one of my sweet angel students.  Turns out, they called 911 from a classroom three times and hung up. She just witnessed them near the phone. They were begging her to tell the principals she was mistaken because the boys are in serious trouble now.  I went to bat for them with the principals because the boys swore on a stack (metaphorically) that they hadn't done it.  I got just a little egg on my face when I talked to the principal and found out that they had already admitted it IN WRITING.  Sigh.  And my poor angel girl was in tears because she didn't know what to do.  I will have a little more making up to her to do tomorrow.  Maybe I don't have kids yet because I cannot tell when the kids are lying like a rug.  I want to believe the best in all of them and they played me.  Big time.

On my way home, I got a text from a good friend who told me I would have a surprise waiting for me at home.  She couldn't have known how much I needed a pick me up today, and yet like so many times in my life, she let in the light I so desperately needed today.  The school's wall seemed to close in even closer today as the day ticked away.  Having dinner out with my handsome husband didn't hurt either. 

So, as a terribly stressful day ends, I bask in the light of friendship and love shining on me. And am in the process of finishing a well-deserved Shiner. 

I hope your light found you today.

Azalea's Misadventures

Azalea, our cat, who up to now has been most famous for the mischief she creates with our Christmas tree, has had quite a week.

We were dogsitting for a good friend last weekend when the unthinkable happened.  We found Azalea's head in the mouth of one of the visiting dogs.  Now, I don't believe for one minute he was trying to hurt her, but unfortunately he did.

Brian and I rushed her to the nearest emergency vet and waited for the worst.  I knew her jaw was probably broken because the right side of her mouth was drooping down.  I felt she would make it, but what concerned me was the road that it would take to get her there.

Well, we are on that road now.  A few thousand dollars in, two emergency vet clinics and a people dentist, as a matter of fact. 

I know.  You probably think we are crazy.  But these are our children.  In fact, Brian had no idea the effect she has had on him until she was hurt.  He was a mess.

She got to come home on Wednesday from her second procedure.  Her canines are fused and her jaw is wired.  Her mouth is open slightly so her tongue is sticking out most of the time.  It's kind of cute and pitiful and the same time.  She drools a lot and her fur isn't as perfectly groomed as the little princess usually keeps it. 

She took over our clothes hamper in our bathroom where we confined her for the first few days.  We put her little kitty bed in there and took the dirty clothes out.  She has been very happy.  We may never get the hamper back, even when she is well.

Giving her the medicines prescribed is a real adventure.  She needs an antibiotic and  pain meds every twelve hours.  Which means using a syringe to shoot the liquid in her mouth.  Know much about cats?  They don't take well to stuff being forced into their mouths.  Especially when it tastes disgusting.  I guess no one has thought of making a tuna flavor antibiotic.  Most of the liquid ends up on the lucky person holding her.  So dressing for work in the morning and then giving her the meds isn't the best idea I have had. 

This weekend she didn't eat as much as we'd like and she seemed pretty lethargic.  This afternoon we decided that she needed to be looked at, so we made the trek back over to Arlington to the vet. 

We discussed what might be wrong with her on the way over.  One thing that had occurred to me was that she no longer liked the food we gave her because of the shortcut I tried.  I injected her medicine into the food I wanted to feed her.  No muss, no fuss.  Maybe.

Miss SmartyPants could smell the medicine and decided she didn't want to eat what she was offered.  She was hungry, just not for food that smells like antibiotic.

She acted like a champ at the vet, even sitting curled up on my lap, purring up a storm once she confirmed there was no viable exit from the exam room. 

Our dear friend gave us some canned food her angel kitty didn't need anymore, and as soon as we got home, we served up some of that, sans medicine.

Let me tell you what! She ate (licked) like she had never seen food before!  She had a half a can before she decided it was time to get her appearance in order. 

So, I have learned my lesson.  Medicine will no longer be dispensed in Princess Purrrfect's food.  And we will syringe smaller amounts of said awful-nasty-stuff at a time into her mouth, to make sure she gets the proper dose.

Live and spend a fortune learning how to care for your "children."