I’m pretty sure I found some fox scat around the patio yesterday while I was sweeping. Then moping with undiluted Lysol…not that I’m a fox scat expert but…google Image search is pretty amazing. Plus I’ve seen one around. I used to think they were cute. What the heck was it doing ON MY PATIO though?
It doesn’t seem to be causing any damage except for my peace of mind – why when I’m pregnant does suddenly every possible disease carrying insect, pest, rodent and mammal suddenly want to get close and cozy with me? I feel like dangers lurk around every corner, literally. Every time I lift something off the ground I think…this is it. The rattle snake that’s under there is going to get me this time for sure. Right on the exposed under arm.
Toby’s been sick all week we don’t know what with. He stopped eating and drinking, basically on Sunday night. I took him to the vet Tuesday and we agreed to give him a pain killer and to try some soft foods for awhile. Because he wasn’t drinking I had to mix Gaterade and water, pull it into a syringe and force him to drink a few of those a day until he was drinking on his own. I’m happy to report he is mostly back to his old self, and we will probably never know what it was he ate that made him so sick.
Meanwhile Ellie has abruptly and without fan fare chosen to sleep in her big girl bed from now on. The crib stands in her room, ready for her to go back and forth if she wants to. A fine layer of dust is accumulating on the surface.
She did great at ‘school’ this week – didn’t cry once. Same for swimming – I asked her if she wanted me in with her or if she wanted to be a big girl and go by herself. Ok so she still asked me to be there but then when I told her I was going to go wait by the door she was fine. Today I told her I was leaving to go out for a couple hours and you know what she said? “Bye mom. See you soon.” No tears.
I’m here living my life, battling Zitka and sick dogs and curious foxes and imaginary cats pooping in my garden possibly spreading Toxoplasmosis and Ellie is quietly, without bells and whistles, growing up.
But you know what? She still wakes up like she did when she was a baby. Sleepily rolling over, hands playing with her hair, curling her legs into her chest and plopping over to the right. Most times when I pick her up she still kicks her little feet like she did when she was first born every time I picked her up. Like she’s trying to help me by gathering momentum to get closer to me as quickly as possible.
I have a tendency to think ahead to the future and think, won’t it be great when the kids are more independent? (And…in Yeh # 2’s case…born…). I look ahead to when the kids are (both born….) and at school with hours of free time ahead of me to go back to work or work out or write, or just hang out at Starbucks and drink coffee and pretend I’m writing the next big bestseller.
But here, now, I am watching my sweet little girl laugh hysterically because the banana fell out of the peel, her hair a mess from a long nap and as I catch a glimpse of my HUGE belly in the mirror I have to smile. Here is good too.
Angela Yeh - Fantasy Author. Dragon Enthusiast. Optimist. 