Cheery!

The oldest hands me a folded piece of paper. "Here. I drew it to cheer up Grandpa. Take it with you to the hospital, OK?" The oldest isn't old enough to visit on the intensive care unit, but this is something he can do for Grandpa.

I don't have the heart to tell him Grandpa probably can't see anymore.

I open the piece of paper. The oldest has drawn the sun shining brightly. There's a nice blue sky. The grass is plentiful and green...

...And there's Pep, his shepherd mix dog, with sharp teeth and wolflike ears. She is in a fighting posture. She has trapped a field mouse and is clearly about to kill it, something she loves to do. The mouse has a fearful expression and a speech bubble that says, appropriately enough, "Eek."

In this case, I think my father's lack of vision may be a

blessing in disguise
idiom
A misfortune that unexpectedly turns into good fortune. [Mid-1700s]
"blessing in disguise." The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992. Answers.com 08 Jul. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/blessing-in-disguise

True story: when I was ten years old, I sent my grandmother, ailing in the hospital, a poem I had written called When a Woman Dies, full of ghastly imagery and ghoulish rhymes. She recovered from her illness and saved the poem, why I do not know. I still have it.

Intensive Care

One of my father's pumps is beeping again. A nurse is immediately there, checking his picc-line and resetting something. There's a flurry of activity as another nurse comes in to adjust his oxygen and someone comes from Nuclear Medicine to transport him, all at once. A man from housekeeping slips in and out to change the needle bin.

I step back to get out of the way, feeling utterly

inutile
adjective
Lacking in utility or serviceability; not useful.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin inūtilis : in-, not; + ūtilis, useful.]
"inutile." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 07 Jul. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/inutile

You're killin' me here...

We have plans to go to Las Vegas in August for our anniversary, just my husband and I. While making these plans, we were searching for airfare and we were shocked at the prices of the tickets. About 3-4 months ago, when we booked our flight for Dallas, the tickets were slightly elevated for our tastes, but not so much that it left us open-jawed and frustrated. Well, all the airlines are charging an arm and a leg for 2 tickets to Vegas! I can vaguely remember when airfare was pretty reasonable and if the average joe wanted to jump on a plane and go visit a friend, they could without much of a glance at their checkbook. That average joe used to be ME! Now? We haven't been many places because of airfare.

Anyway, we booked our flight and we're on our way, but the sticker shock hasn't worn off. My eyes glazed over and I think I died for about 4 seconds after I hit the submit button on Expedia.com. This vacation is going to be a lot of fun and it was well worth it (to relax with each other sans our wonderful children for 4 days--they'll get some Mammaw time), but the price paid was completely ridiculous!

un·con·scion·a·ble ( adj.) :
1. Not restrained by conscience; unscrupulous: unconscionable behavior.
2. Beyond prudence or reason; excessive: unconscionable spending.

http://www.answers.com/topic/unconscionable

Come with me, Sammy...

The first time I saw Sammy, I was browsing the internet and I was looking for him. Only, I had no idea I was looking for him! When I saw his face, I fell in love. I clicked the link to get more information about him and I called to ask if he had already been adopted. His information said he was 3 years old, so he'd be a perfect fit for our family. He hadn't been, so my family and I went to visit with him the next day. When we first met him, he was very excited, on the hyper side really. He didn't make much noise, he was a very proud little guy. One thing I noticed about him is that he had a pretty fresh haircut, as if someone cared for him before he was put up for adoption. Also, when we asked him to do something, he did it. When we asked him to sit with us, he did it promptly, without hesitation. He loved our boys and was very gentle with the baby, like he could feel his trepidation (the "baby" is 3 years old and he's afraid of almost everything, but he wasn't afraid of Sammy). He stole our hearts in a matter of days! The day after our visit at the shelter, we drove back (an hour and 15 minutes) and picked up our boy, Sammy.

Come to find out, the shelter was wrong about his age. Our vet says he's older than 7 months old, but he's not much older than 1 years old! Ha! Sammy Wammy is a baby and he demonstrates that daily. We love him so. He'd been in the shelter for 10 days and I can tell that his spirit was being kind of oppressed there. He's in much better spirits now. He's been to the groomers and he smells LOTS better now. He's a handsome little fella and I am proud that we played a part in his...

deliverance: (noun) the act of delivering someone or something : the state of being delivered; especially : LIBERATION, RESCUE
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deliverance