FREEDOM!!!!!

Tomorrow will be four weeks since the beginning of my incarceration at home with Peanut. I've gone through several different phases of grief: disbelief, anger, resentment and finally resigned acceptance. Yesterday, however, I moved into defiance. It's not that I feel the need to constantly run the roads, but the mere fact that I can't do anything, go anywhere without arranging for a Peanut sitter gets overwhelming at times. Therefore, I just quit even trying to do anything ... until yesterday. I went to the grocery store by myself and left him home alone. Today is Day 18 since his second surgery. He's still wearing the cone - I'm afraid to take it off because he still tries to rub at that eye occasionally. I'm paranoid, I know. I can't help it. BUT, I have gotten to the point that I'm done. Sacrificing my freedom for the past 4 weeks will have to have been enough. I'm leaving the cone on but I am no longer willing to provide 24/7 supervision. If he screws it up this time, at this point, he screws it up. I don't know what people do  in this position who have lives they don't have the "luxury" of putting on hold. Crating would not have been an answer. He could've messed his eye up with his back paw if he had been crated. I don't believe boarding him would have been enough because even in a crate he would need to be watched. So what would a person do? I don't know, but I do know I won't do this again - not for this length of time. If I had had any idea we'd still be dealing with this situation this long, I'd have been more proactive about other options. On a happier note ...

I got a small taste of freedom Friday night. Since Bob was on his 4-day golf trip, I had to take Peanut to my dad's Friday afternoon so I could go to the Rascal Flatts concert that evening. PITA, but ya do whatcha gotta do, right? The weather could not have been more perfect. The high was in the mid 80's that day and there was a delicious breeze too. To be on that lawn with good friends, listening to awesome country music (Chris Young, Kellie Picker and Rascal), sucking down a Blue Moon too? Well, life was pretty good. Cari had picked up Matt from the airport that afternoon (they met while we were in Nashville for CMA Fest) so he got to meet some of the crazy clan. Saturday he was introduced to Nana and Papa when we picked up Peanut. Dad said he didn't seem like a "dumb ass" and got two thumbs up. LOL So far the visit seems to be going well - they both seem to be pretty happy and have had fun getting to know each other better. Cari's introducing him to Water Country today. Can't wait to hear about that!

I'm really starting to look forward to our Myrtle Beach get-a-way. I desperately need some "me" time - time where I don't have to take care of everyone else. Less than a week later, though, we move Cari into her first apartment. That's gonna be bittersweet for me. I'm excited for her, but will really miss her around here. I wish we had had more time to play this summer and go shopping together. We had to cram most of a summer's worth of shopping into mostly one day last weekend - when the thermometer reached 105 degrees both days - and that doesn't take into account the heat index. Brutal doesn't even begin to describe how miserable it was. The pool table is piled high with her loot and we aren't done yet. We'll have a few days after Matt goes home before leaving for Myrtle Beach so maybe we'll get a few more things done. Time is just ticking away ...