surgical situations

In case you were wondering, the surgery I am referring to (in my last post) is the plate-removal surgery Owen had about three weeks ago. Normally, after a TPLO surgery the plate would stay in unless there was some sort of complication, such as an infection. We had planned to have the plate removed because he retrieves in ice cold water during the winter duck hunting...blahblah... I know I said it all before...

I am glad we did because he never seemed quite right after the first surgery and still limped a bit now and then -- most days actually -- even though he was still eager and able to give it the pepper chasing tennis balls.

After the second, less complicated, less invasive surgery, Owen was immediately and obviously improved. He was walking tentatively on the leg that same day and running within a two or three days.

We don't know why the plate was causing problems (there was some obvious inflammation in the connective tissue on the x-ray), but for whatever reason, removing the plate seems to have recovered him completely. Unfortunately, as relatively easy as the surgery was, he was still defrocked of his fine feathering.

Bad mothering

Thea has been caught drinking out of Owee's water bowl. I am certainly to regret this, but after judging her determination, I gave her a bowl of her own water set on the floor, just like a dog. She has never drank so much water, nor so happily!

Clark has reservations, of course, as any decent parent would. He isn't sure we should be encouraging this behavior, to which I say CHILL, SHE WON'T BE GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL DRINKING FROM A DOG BOWL. This is my standard assessment tool. Will she be sleeping in our bed when she graduates from high school? Peeing on the floor, less that three feet away from the potty when she graduates from high school? Chewing up food and intentionally letting it dribble down her chin when she graduates from high school? Writing incomplete sentences when she graduates from high school? (probably) If the answers is "no," or at least "probably not," I am going to pass on causing myself undue stress.



With regards to this current problem/solution, I wonder if I am lazy, callous, reckless, lacking imagination -- or all those things. I don't want to fight with this very determined little dog-bowl drinker, and besides, with her own (clean) water bowl how bad can it be? At least she won't be drinking cat poop backwash. As a matter of previous instruction, we have not been able stop her from drinking her bathwater even when she repeatedly gets an uncomfortable soapy snort up her nose.... and kids, they all get bonked now and again and certainly ingest disgusting things. Right? Besides, I am a little ashamed to say, it may be that I am slightly amused by this behavior.

This is going to come back on me, right? All over the internet infants expire in a teaspoon of water and discussion boards are alive with the virtue of boiling water for anything that might touch a mother's child. Meanwhile, I'm teaching mine to drink like a dog. Will she get worms, assuming all dog bowls are drinking vessels? Is she going to do this at the family reunion? Probably. I'm steeling myself for the humiliation.





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Speaking of dogs -- Owee ran his first post-surgery 5k the other day. I should knit a leg warmer for his drumstick, something to keep him warm through this frigid spring, till the hair grows back.

Springlike

We had a day of temperate spring. It was enough to mow down the lawn, throw up the windows, shake out the rug. It was enough for some playground business. Today, despite crack of dawn birdsong and unbound joy yawning in my chest, it is nothing like spring.



I do believe it is spring, despite strong empirical evidence to the contrary. I thought I heard "winter storm warning" on the radio, in the background, but I am not sure. 90% chance of rain for the next few days and a cold April, that is all I can find on the internet.

The bad weather stays in the background. That's the secret to living in this climate, on the days when you don't find slate gray churning skies thrilling. It's a brilliant bright day above the clouds. My mom will see that when her plane breaks through. She flew away early this morning.