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Susan Getgood's personal blog

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2013. So far a mixed bag. With an extra helping of awful.

03.14.2013 by Susan Getgood //

Well, 2013, so far you are a mixed bag.

There have been some good moments.

Douglas and I had a great weekend trip into NYC in January. We saw Blue Man Group, ate at a terrific restaurant in the East Village (The Smith) and went to the Harry Potter exhibit at Discovery Times Square.

Not sure if they do this at other venues, but if you’ve ever been to a Blue Man show in NY, you may recall the audience warm-up bit at the beginning where a few audience member names are featured on an LCD display. Starts out as though they are calling attention to celebrities in the audience and asking the rest to congratulate or thank the celebrity. When we went, the first two were purportedly an Olympic Curling champion and a scientist with the human genome project.

The last one? Well, that was Douglas! Digging around the FAQ on the Blue Man website for the show running time to plan our dinner reservation, I had seen the notation about submitting a name for the LCD. There was no guarantee they would use Doug’s name but the chances seemed good, as I set up the situation for them; a 12 year boy attending with his mom seemed tailor-made for some laughs.

It met all my expectations. As the LCD crawled with his name, it noted (and I paraphrase because you can’t take pictures): Douglas is a person with no particular skills or talents, so he really needs our love. Tell Douglas “we love you.” At which point the whole audience yells “We love you Douglas.” He was naturally mortified that I would do this to him, making it all the sweeter, but deep down, even though  he’ll never admit it, I think he also was secretly a little pleased. Every so often it’s nice to be the special one.

The other personal highlight of the year to date? Douglas won the school science fair. First place for 6th & 7th grade and First overall. His project, entitled “Produce Power” explored which fruits and vegetables would make the best “battery” for a digital clock.  Here’s the mad scientist presenting his project at the fair last week:

And, while not quite a highlight, we finally resolved the divorce. There is still a lot of financial mess to deal with, especially regarding the real estate, but the divorce was granted February 13th and will be final in mid-May. Ironic, that my first full day as a formerly-married person was Valentine’s Day.

I won’t write much more about the divorce here or elsewhere, but of late I have been reflecting on life and relationships quite a bit. It’s not quite ironic, but there is something “funny sad” about the trajectory that so many of us late Boomers/early GenXers seem to be on, if my Facebook feed is any indication.

We spent our early adulthood building our careers, in no tremendous hurry to “settle down.” In fact, until my mid-30s, I never really thought I would get married.

And then we did enter into a long-term domestic partnership (including marriage and children). We thought we were “safe” because we had waited. We didn’t make youthful mistakes in our partner choice. We were older, established. We wouldn’t outgrow each other.

Except no. That’s not what happened. There are no guarantees in life. So now in the back third of my adult life, I am experiencing my third marital status – divorced. I’m not sad or happy. Just relieved to be moving on.

Reva watches Westminster (2007)

And now the extra helping of awful. We learned this week that my dear darling Reva, Ch. Blueberry’s Best Served Cold, has cancer and there isn’t really anything we can do about it. There are three different tumors, so even if we could deal with the worst one without going bankrupt, one of the others would get her sooner rather than later.

We are devastated. She is only 8-1/2 years old, and I thought I had years left with her. Right now, she is pretty chipper and her normal self, so we are taking each day one day at a time. But things could go quickly. We just don’t know.

This, this alone, moves 2013 into the column of officially sucking. Because no matter what good things happen, and I am hopeful some will, nothing will make up for losing her.

That’s all I am going to write about this here until she does pass. Because it devastates me just to type the words, and I need to stop crying.

I’m sure by this point you do too (and thanks for sticking with this post) so please enjoy this video from a few years ago of Reva and her son Cash playing with “Clocky.” Reva is the larger blacker dog; Cash was just a puppy. And remember every day is a gift.

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Categories // Dogs, Douglas, Family, General, Theater, Travel

A good vet makes all difference

03.14.2012 by Susan Getgood //

When we moved to Connecticut last year, one of the biggest stresses was whether I would be able to find a good vet. I had been with the same veterinarian for about 15 years. Dr. Cindy Schaefer and the staff at Apple Country Animal Hospital in Stow Mass. had seen us through so many things from illness and loss, to the joy of new puppies! Cindy was more than our vet; she became a friend.

So I searched carefully on the Internet for a veterinary hospital that had similar facilities, and really lucked out when I chose Shelton Veterinary Center. The doctors and staff are both skilled and friendly, and have done a great job for our menagerie over the past year.

And no time more so than on March 3d when I had to say good bye to Music. While they didn’t have the history with this marvelous bitch that Cindy had, and may not realize how much Music contributed to the Scottish Terrier breed, they understood how important she was to ME. In that hour, that’s all that mattered.

Yesterday when I was going through the mail, there was a condolence card from the staff. Signed by the vets and the techs, with short personal notes.

The staff at Apple Country cried with me when I lost Sabrina and Nick; they had after all been treating them most of their lives when we lost them in 2008 and 2009 respectively. I didn’t expect the same at Shelton; they’ve only known us a year. But I was both touched and impressed by the thoughtfulness of the personal notes in the sympathy card.

That’s the bar, folks – veterinarians and vet techs who care for your pets nearly as much as you do.

I am so very lucky to have found it twice.

Categories // Dogs

RIP Music, Ch. Blueberry’s We Are Not Amused ROMX

03.03.2012 by Susan Getgood //

March 23, 1998 – March 3, 2012

I’ve known the day was coming for a while now, and earlier this week, knew it would be soon.

But it was still too soon, Music. It’s always too soon. We will miss you terribly and always.

Music came to live with us in Fall of 1998 a few weeks after the Montgomery Kennel Club Show. She was my second show dog, and became the dam of two multiple BIS winning champions Carly (GCH Blueberry’s Attitude Dancing ROMS HOF) and Henry (GCH Blueberry’s Surely You Jest HOF), and many more wonderful show dogs and pets. At my home now, I have a Music daughter, grandson and great-grandaughter.

There are so many memories of this wonderful bitch, but I think my very favorite is the day I realized she wasn’t just going to live with us until she finished her championship and then be placed. It was January 1999, and I had just returned from a business trip with a miserable sinus infection. I was lying on the couch feeling sick and pathetic, and she jumped up, licked my face and curled up to nap with me. Yup, not going anywhere.

She never met a toy she couldn’t destroy in under 5 minutes. Not even the so-called indestructible ones could withstand her powerful jaws. Luckily, once she had destroyed the squeak and pulled out all the stuffing, she was happy playing with the toy “carcass.” I was so glad when they came out with toys that had no stuffing, just a squeak.

Music was a wonderful mother — she took excellent care of her babies, and of mine too, when we had Douglas in April 2000. She loved to camp out under his highchair, and scored some tremendous treats for many years by being in the right place at the right time.

I don’t have many pictures of Music. Like many women, after a certain age she didn’t like to have her picture taken. As soon as she saw the camera, she would turn her back or walk away. Unlike her grandson Cash who will ham it up whenever you ask. The picture on this post is one I love from when she was a puppy. Not too crazy about the person whose lap she is sitting on, but all my other pictures of her are in storage or buried in file boxes in the attic.

I am sure she would have held on another week, maybe even longer. She was a tough girl. But I knew it was time when she stopped eating. Not even her favorite treat, cheddar cheese. So this morning we went to the vet, and I said goodbye.

Love you Music. Miss you already.

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