Pawcurious: With Veterinarian and Author Dr. V

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I am grateful

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Normally, I’d be spending today running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Thanksgiving is MY holiday, the one I normally host at my house. My mom gets Easter, my mother in law gets Christmas, but this is the one I take  because I love going overboard on things like caramelized squash bisque and focaccia sage stuffing and pretty much every kind of turkey shaped serving dish one can own.

Well, all the turkey shaped serving dishes are currently in a storage facility and I barely have enough room in the apartment for us, nevermind the rest of the family. So my mom is taking an extra holiday for me this year, and despite my protests of “I can help! I can bring mandarin-orange cranberry sauce!” she insists that she has it covered.

And I realized today, actually, I am really grateful for that. Because I have had a lot going on and I actually don’t relish the idea of going to the grocery store until at least Friday. My fridge has two containers of leftovers, some fruit, and that’s about it. And I am grateful that this apartment complex has, if not the greatest parking arrangements, good proximity to some excellent take out.

I am grateful I have a family who is low key about holidays and doesn’t mind being flexible. I am grateful I don’t have that one crazy relative who always shows up and ruins the afternoon by drinking too much port and ranting about sports/politics/religion/you.

I am grateful I got to spend the year getting to know even more of you. I love my online friends. I’m also grateful for the traveling I’ve gotten to do because of the blog, and the perspective it’s given me to remember that there are problems, and then there are problems, and those you do not wish to have.

I am grateful all my family members and pets are still alive and well, even the betta. Because the pain of loss is always amplified over the holidays, and watching so many people with recent losses trying to get through the day with pain etched on every feature, I realize I am fortunate that this year is not yet my turn.

Finally, I am grateful that I wasn’t home when my husband realized someone left the screen door open so Apollo got outside into the apartment complex this afternoon, and I am REALLY grateful that Apollo ran about 15 feet away and then sat under a bush until someone came to collect him. Because this could have been an entirely different post.

Be safe, and have a great Thanksgiving!

 

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  3. I am grateful for your posts, which keep me in touch with the world. I am also grateful for your splendid writing, which I am stealing, with proper credit to you and a link back to your page, of course:

    “I am grateful all my family members and pets are still alive and well, even the betta. Because the pain of loss is always amplified over the holidays, and watching so many people with recent losses trying to get through the day with pain etched on every feature, I realize I am fortunate that this year is not yet my turn.”

    Minus the betta, of course. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  5. Happy Thanksgiving Dr V to you and your two and four legged family members. Thankful for another year of your posts.

  6. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Dr. V – including the usually elusive Apollo. Perhaps he knows just how much stress you’ve been under. God Bless you all!