Happy Faces Even if You Can't See Them

It's Sunday night and I'm trying to lighten my mood. I'm being somewhat grumpy and fussy with little things around the house. I suspect I'm taking deep sighs without even knowing that I do it.

My sister would advise me to have a beer and soak in her hot tub. Well, she knows me well enough to just offer the hot tub and a Dr. Pepper!

It's one of those times I wish it was my birthday already, or, that we had some dark chocolate chunky ice cream in the freezer.

Hubby is being sweet. Job is going great. My cast is off and I can type and drive with two hands again. The house is clean, and they laundry is caught up. The weather has been so warm that our tulips are peeking through the ground. (We had to get some more dirt and cover them up.) In spite of all the positive things, my physic system seems to be off. Like there's a sad song buzzing in my head, but I can't name that tune.

Tonight, I took my dog, Sheba, for a car ride because it always makes me smile to see her jumping around and excited about going for a ride. She used to follow me around the house and look straight into my eyes when I was getting ready to leave with that, "Can I go too?" look, but now that she's completely blind, I have to say the words, "go for a ride". Then, I have to sadly watch her as she starts bumping into the doors, chairs and walls trying to find her way to the front door ahead of me.

It feels weird to have to guide her to the car door and push her bottom up into the back seat. But, after that, she's her old self standing between the front seats and leaning against me as she stares straight ahead while we drive around the block. Even with her blindness, Sheba is very happy when she gets to go for a ride. I can't imagine what she thinks she is looking at, but more power to her!

I've watched her in this new phase. We're positive that her eyes are total darkness, but she seems to have a sense when she's near something solid. Sometimes she jumps back before her nose actually touches something she's close to. Or, if she bumps into the bushes or tall grass, she just plows right on knowing she'll come out on the other side.

She has learned to trust me when she's on the bed and trying to figure out how to get down. When she positions herself on the correct corner and hesitates about jumping down, I say, "jump" and she does it gracefully and without that fear of falling that's usually there.

She likes for me to stay in one place so she can lean against my legs or lie down on my feet. Because she can't tell the difference between our fingers holding some treat and the treat itself, we've learned to say, "floor" when we give her something and she knows to put her head down and sniff until she finds it.

Sometimes she really gets confused and stands in the corner ( or closet) and barks loudly for me to come and help her. Other times, when we come home from work, she's gotten herself locked into a small area and is quietly waiting for someone to come guide her to the water dish.

After showing her the water dish or opening the the refrigerator door in her face, she usually can re-orient herself to most of the house. She has places where she hides her bones and it's usually out of the way places so her big sister, Ching-Ching doesn't get them. I guess she thinks if she bumps her head enough, it's a safe place to hide something.

While blindness is something we fear happening to us, it hasn't affected Sheba that much except for the getting lost in the house part.

Maybe when we feel sad or discouraged, we should think of Sheba and allow ourselves to bump into the walls a bit as we get back on track. (Click on the picture to "see' Sheba's sightless eyes. It's a little gross, but at least she doesn't have to worry about 'red eye').

Okay, hubby wants me to watch this new program with him. Thanks for stopping by. ( I check on the site meter so I know who's been here.)

Next time, bring chocolate, please.

Take Care on the Journey,
~Linda