Blog’s Pause (Paws) Button

Earlier this week, I celebrated my 58th birthday.  Justin and I slept in until Julia and Allie drove back on the day after  their cross-country ski race in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  Allie finished second in her age group, and Julia was tenth in her age group.  I’m sworn to secrecy regarding the number of people in their age groups, but Allie came home with a big medal.

Upon arriving  home, Julia made her best cake ever: a  three layer chocolate and peanut butter birthday cake.

We ate a birthday dinner of meat and potato pasties, purchased from a bakery in Iron Mountain, Michigan.

We are in the final stretch for getting Justin’s caregivers in place, doctors’ appointments, durable medical equipment updates, and adult children back to school.  In the event that everything works out, confirmation will be evidenced by no blog posts for a few weeks.  I’m hoping that my next post will detail new travels, instead of  an explanation for why things didn’t work out.  There are a lot of moving pieces at this point.

Callie is in charge of the blog while I’m off-line.

New Canine Companion

Towards the end of October, my son Justin called and said, “Dad, I want Elvis back.”  This summer, Justin decided to go to his summer transition semester without Elvis.  He made the same decision about the fall semester.  Clearly, however, he began missing Elvis.  Many of the students at Justin’s college go home on the weekends, and Elvis is a great compa-nion.  Plus, as a service dog, he can do some handy stuff for someone in a power wheelchair. Picking things up and delivering them is Elvis’ specialty.

So, of course, I said, “yes, when were you thinking?”  Justin replied, “Now, or asap.”  Julia, Elvis and I were in Utah, so “now” wasn’t practical.  However, I delivered Elvis back to his boy right after I returned from my trip out West.  Elvis has been with Justin ever since. Our concerns about Elvis fitting in at college and having Justin’s caregivers do the daily doggie chores have so far been misplaced.   That isn’t to say there won’t be challenges.  Justin managed to break his leg during the fall semester (fell out of his power wheelchair), and had one other trip in the middle of the night by ambulance.  Still, within the limitations of a young adult with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, Justin seems to be  managing things. He and Elvis will return home for a month at semester break. My daughter Allie will take over his caregiving responsibilities to earn a few extra bucks for a car that she is saving up for.

With Julia at work, the kids at college,and no dog at home, the empty nest has been too quiet, even for an introvert and silence-lover like myself.  I’ve been on the hunt for a new dog to hike and sit by the fire with.  Julia requested a smaller dog this time and a female.  She also didn’t want a purebred or a puppy and preferred a rescue or humane society dog.  Some of those criteria would not have been mine, but I could live with those guidelines.  This week, we narrowed the search down to Callie, a mix of Blue Heeler and Border Collie, sometimes referred to as a Border Heeler.

Callie was found as a stray in Indiana, spent some time in an Indiana shelter, and was rescued by a dog trainer in Wisconsin with Indiana connections.  She comes to us with basic skills and a sweet disposition.  I think she’ll fit right in.

Callie is about a year old, loves to hike, and was looking for a forever home.  Seems like a perfect match.

Roll with the Changes

Elvis the service dog remains at home, but Justin has left the building and taken up residence at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater dorms for his summer school session.  He is taking six college credits, returning home for August, and then going back to school for the fall semester.

When asked what he is looking forward to the most at college, Justin answered, “freedom.”  I guess that I was probably the same way.

In the meantime, the local Grandma and Grandpa will be taking care of Elvis while Julia and I take off in a couple of days for Alaska.  It will be our 50th state. Julia has a business meeting in Anchorage through the end of the week.  Then we’ll have a couple of weeks for adventure and exploration.

Changes

“Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m getting older, too.”  (Fleetwood Mac-“Landslide”)

 

 

Yesterday, my son graduated from high school.  For many reasons, education for Justin has been a battle.  He overcame many physical and social obstacles.

 

 

Today, we spent a couple of hours at his new school and home:  University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.  He plans to major in social work and will start a summer transitions program in July.  There are still unknowns and obstacles ahead, but we will take those day-by-day.

 

For now, we can sit back and celebrate his victories.