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Thanksgiving
Nov. 25th, 2021 08:38 pmThough we lost our Callisto cat yesterday, I do have one big thank you today: I am very thankful that we are now well-enough off financially that we didn't have to question the money we spent on Callisto's tests and feeding tube surgery. While sitting at the vet on one of many days I overheard a man talking with his wife about whether they could afford the tests for their dog. It killed me. I was running through my head if I could offer him a check when his wife agreed. It would have killed me more if we'd had to angst about that.
But years ago, we got insurance for our cats, and that often covers 25-50% of the bill, which takes the sting out. The rest we could afford right now. That was a real blessing.
In the end, we really know that we did everything that was possible: that we gave Callisto the best chance possible, and though we failed it was not for any lack on our part.
Today we spent Thanksgiving with my Dad and Mary.
Kimberly and I are still both deeply sad. Whenever I wool gather, the times that I usually start sketching out in my head a new elf-myth or the history article I'm working on, I instead fixated on something or other about Callisto and this last month. No good.
But it was good to get out and spend some time with other people, to enjoy family and camaraderie.
And we had some good food too.
(Sadly the excellent cheesecake unsettled my stomach because of the lactose, and so I missed out on an evening walk with my dad, alas, which I hadn't done for a while.)
As a bonus: my dad and I fixed Julie!!!
After he was out here last week when Julie's hatch stopped closing, he went home, found videos on how to fix it, decided he felt comfortable with it, and then found the part on Amazon. A $50 part, I should note, rather than the $1,000 OEM part from Mercedes. It had bad shipping, which wouldn't have gotten it here for weeks, but I found an equivalent that promised two day shipping thanks to his initial research. (It made it here in three, even though the company waited until the day it was supposed to arrive to ship. I can't imagine they made much money on overnight to Hawaii for a $50 part.)
To install it, we had to pry off all kinds of plastic covering, which was the biggest pain, especially since we had so-so tools and a constant fear of breaking something. Then it was relatively easy to get the latch out, unwire it, get the new one in, and rewire. Getting the plastic covering back on was the second biggest pain, but not a huge problem. We hit the car a lot.
I really appreciated the fact that there were some things my dad did really easily ... and some I did. Yay!
The cable-tie solution my dad had come up with had worked, but Nellie the Explosive Adventure Scooter had annoyingly been in the back seat, where I was afraid she would rip the seats and where she occasionally assaulted Kimberly by banging forward toward the passenger seat. And, the hatch was visibly not entirely closed, which made me worry about leaving it somewhere for an extended period.
But, all fixed now.
Life is beginning to return to normal, as we have exited one (or two) of our crises.
It is a more sorrowful normal with an emptier house and an equally big hole in our hearts. Even Lucy has wandered the house frequently today yowling, and she didn't like Callisto much.
But, this is the new normal.
But years ago, we got insurance for our cats, and that often covers 25-50% of the bill, which takes the sting out. The rest we could afford right now. That was a real blessing.
In the end, we really know that we did everything that was possible: that we gave Callisto the best chance possible, and though we failed it was not for any lack on our part.
Today we spent Thanksgiving with my Dad and Mary.
Kimberly and I are still both deeply sad. Whenever I wool gather, the times that I usually start sketching out in my head a new elf-myth or the history article I'm working on, I instead fixated on something or other about Callisto and this last month. No good.
But it was good to get out and spend some time with other people, to enjoy family and camaraderie.
And we had some good food too.
(Sadly the excellent cheesecake unsettled my stomach because of the lactose, and so I missed out on an evening walk with my dad, alas, which I hadn't done for a while.)
As a bonus: my dad and I fixed Julie!!!
After he was out here last week when Julie's hatch stopped closing, he went home, found videos on how to fix it, decided he felt comfortable with it, and then found the part on Amazon. A $50 part, I should note, rather than the $1,000 OEM part from Mercedes. It had bad shipping, which wouldn't have gotten it here for weeks, but I found an equivalent that promised two day shipping thanks to his initial research. (It made it here in three, even though the company waited until the day it was supposed to arrive to ship. I can't imagine they made much money on overnight to Hawaii for a $50 part.)
To install it, we had to pry off all kinds of plastic covering, which was the biggest pain, especially since we had so-so tools and a constant fear of breaking something. Then it was relatively easy to get the latch out, unwire it, get the new one in, and rewire. Getting the plastic covering back on was the second biggest pain, but not a huge problem. We hit the car a lot.
I really appreciated the fact that there were some things my dad did really easily ... and some I did. Yay!
The cable-tie solution my dad had come up with had worked, but Nellie the Explosive Adventure Scooter had annoyingly been in the back seat, where I was afraid she would rip the seats and where she occasionally assaulted Kimberly by banging forward toward the passenger seat. And, the hatch was visibly not entirely closed, which made me worry about leaving it somewhere for an extended period.
But, all fixed now.
Life is beginning to return to normal, as we have exited one (or two) of our crises.
It is a more sorrowful normal with an emptier house and an equally big hole in our hearts. Even Lucy has wandered the house frequently today yowling, and she didn't like Callisto much.
But, this is the new normal.