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What's happening here this week

Well, if you've read previous posts of my blog, you'll know my dad is undergoing treatments for lung cancer right now and I've been getting increasingly worried that time is running out. The hardest part for me is that I'm in Tennessee and my folks live in Pittsburgh, so I can't just pop over for a visit or to give my mom a hand with shopping or cleaning or whatever she might need, just to give her a break. We wanted to go home for Christmas but my mom talked us out of it since Dad will be in the middle of his radiation and chemotherapy treatments, extremely sick and tired, and very vul

nerable to any germs or colds we might unintentionally bring with us. My heart is breaking to think this may be his last Christmas and we're not there with him. Mind you, I'm not usually a negative minded person. His prognosis simply is that bad. He's got a 20% chance of cure rate and his lungs are inoperable due to exteme damage from emphysema. I pray every day that God will grant us more time, just a little more time. We want to move home so I can be with my dad and help give my mom some much needed relief. She's struggling terribly with the heavy responsibility she's suddenly found on her plate and feels overwhelmingly alone.

So we've begun the process of job hunting, scouting out the best school districts, and real estate searching. I've started weeding out accumulated junk that we won't need to drag home with us when the time comes to move. Oh, there's nothing like moving to truly get the clutter purge in full gear! I love it! Even little Michael is excited to be going home to see Grandma and Pap-pap, and an added super bonus is that we'll have Sissie close by, too. Hubby has a twenty year old daughter from his first marriage that lives in PA with her mom. It'll be good to be back home again and to have all of our loved ones nearby.

There is one little straggler that I'm not sure will make the trip with us. I have an eighteen year old kitty, Scooter, whose own health is on the decline as well. When it rains, it pours, as the saying goes. I've had this sweet cat since she was six months old and she's been a perfect picture of feline health all her life. She's not once had a spot of trouble-not even so much as fleas. But just this past week or so, her appetite has taken a dramatic decline. Where she would normally devour half a can of moist food and munch down a good bit of dry kibble and treats throughout the day as well, she now barely finishes maybe a quarter of a can and only rarely touches her dry food and treats. She's existing on literally teaspoonfuls of food. I know it's not enough to sustain her for much longer. I dread that trip to the vet-I can't bear to say good-bye. I did make my husband promise, though, that when it is time, that he would allow me to have her cremated so that we can bring her home with us. I simply cannot leave her here when we go. She, too, was born in Pennsylvania and I just want to bring her home where she belongs.