On reaching my 56th birthday, I felt the call to reflect on this past year of life and my life in general. What a year! Time seems to slip by so easily these days. Memories and events seem to melt together, but some things tend to stick out. I find myself reliving flashbacks from my youth, my college years, early marriage when my daughters were little and memories of my mother and father when they were young, healthy and alive. I never envisioned myself sitting at my computer typing my next THOUGHTS column with a little gray kitten snoozing in my lap and thinking about my life. When I was a ten-year-old boy living on a farm in central Illinois, I certainly never expected I would find myself living in San Antonio, Texas with my artist wife and working at the Alamo, let alone writing a book about that historic place.
This year, my Alamo Book has given me more than my 15 minutes of fame. It seems to be selling quite well in the Alamo Gift Shop. Hardly a day goes by that I am not asked to sign a visitor’s copy of the book. Visitors seem delighted when they hunt me down at the Alamo and match up my picture in the book with the real live person who wrote it. Just today, a woman asked me to step outside so her husband could take a picture of me with her holding the book in front of the Alamo Shrine.
My year of “fame” was tempered, however by my diagnosis of diabetes. It was discovered after I developed double vision. A series of tests determined that I had had the disease for some time without realizing it. Me? I thought I was healthy. The last few months of this year of fame have found me wearing an eye patch, visiting doctors, having tests done and learning how to test my blood sugar twice a day. I now have to take medicine and buy testing supplies. I have to make doctor appointments and do follow-ups. My wife, Lisa, and I are taking classes to learn how to live with a disease that has no cure. I can control it with medicine, diet, exercise and stress management, but as my doctor put it, “you and diabetes are now married.” This year, I have had to take responsibility for my health, something up to now, I took for granted.
Speaking of my wife, this year I have seen Lisa continue to grow as an artist. It has been rewarding for me to watch her have her first solo art show at an upscale wine bar in San Antonio and then move on to several other shows that have displayed her work around Texas. Her work has begun to sell and to be recognized in the local art community. This year Lisa is working on a website to display her artwork and upcoming classes. She will again be teaching at Southwest School of Craft and at ArtCloth Studios here in San Antonio. Lisa enjoys traveling to ArtCloth Studios several times a week where she creates new work for upcoming shows. She has adopted the three studio cats there and they love to watch...and “help” her create. In the coming year, Lisa is looking forward to several new and exciting opportunities for her work as well as some challenging and surprising projects. Stay tuned.
Unfortunately, Lisa’s year was tempered with the unexpected passing of her Aunt Barbara. Some will recall that we named the kitten we found after her aunt. Our new kitten, Babs, has truly brightened our lives in the few weeks she has been with us. She delights in racing around our house, sliding on the wooden floors and relentlessly terrorizing our two older cats, Spike and Sylvie. This little ball of energy turns the most peculiar objects into toys. I get tired just watching her, but she’s a real sweetheart.
This year has had a few difficulties, but overall we love our life here in SA. Our family has brightened our lives. Lisa’s mother moved from Florida to Ft. Worth, Texas, only a few hours away from San Antonio. This has allowed Lisa to see her mom more often. My daughter Erin and her husband were able to come for a visit this spring and this month, we were able to fly to Chicago for a mini-family reunion with my family. Lisa and I were able to spend some time with my daughters, my brother, sister, and their families. I especially welcomed the time I got to spend with my granddaughter, Emma. What an amazing little girl she is. To cap this 56th year of my life, my daughter, Heather, has announced that she is having another girl next April. Emma will have a little sister and Lisa and I will be grandparents again.
My fifty-six years of life have been filled and continue to be filled with wonder. What a blessing.
FOOD for THOUGHT...
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Barbara "Babs"
My wife and I were in the middle of preparing for our trip to Chicago for a reunion with my family when we got the word that Lisa’s Aunt Barbara had passed away. Her passing was unexpected. Lisa had just driven to Ft. Worth that weekend to visit with her aunt who was doing well in a rehabilitation center. Weeks earlier, her aunt had been rushed to the hospital in serious condition, but after some tests and treatment, she began to recover and talked of returning home.
The news of her aunt’s passing put our trip to Chicago on hold. United Airlines was frustrating Lisa as she tried to make alternate arrangements that would allow her to fly to Dallas for the funeral and then fly on to Chicago for our reunion. My family had made plans to drive to Chicago from as far away as Des Moines, Iowa and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. It was an emotional day for both of us, but as we sat in our living room trying to figure out our options...we heard this pitiful meow coming from outside our front door.
Lisa and I looked at each other and Lisa headed out the front door to find the source of this meow for help. It led us to the side of the house behind the AC unit where we came upon this tiny gray kitten. It was a little dirty but appeared to be in good shape. We lifted it up and placed it on the AC unit to get a better look at it. The kitten did not hiss or try to get away from us, but instead began to purr loudly. She was very affectionate. It was clear that she was not a feral cat. It meant that she had to have been dumped in our neighborhood or had run away from home. She was so tiny and all alone and afraid. She was shaking with her tail between her legs.
Lisa and I have two older cats, Spike and Sylvie. They are very set in their ways, with Sylvie firmly established as the “Princess,” the alpha cat, the queen bee. I had made it clear to Lisa that two cats were more than enough for us. Spike or Sylvie would have to head to the great beyond before we could consider another cat. If we did get another cat, we agreed it should be an older cat and not a kitten. Kittens were too much work, too high energy.
With our grief and pending chaos, dealing with a lost kitten was the last thing we needed, yet strangely, we both forgot our troubles and focused on a tiny, little creature that needed our help. I said we could keep it in our guest bathroom for the night and I would find an animal shelter in the morning. I found one of the cat carriers in the garage and placed a towel inside, but first we decided to give her a bath in the sink. She was so thirsty that she began drinking the filthy bath water as we washed her. We put a little canned food in a dish along with some fresh water and she devoured it. She purred loudly and let us know that she appreciated our intervention.
The next morning Lisa and I checked on our little guest. I was still determined to drop it off at an animal shelter, but the kitten was purring so loudly and was so affectionate that we started talking about keeping it for a few days. She was really getting her “hooks” into both of us, especially me. Keeping a small kitten however would be a problem since we were about to leave home for four days. We knew Spike and Sylvie would do okay with dry food in a self-feeder and extra litter boxes, but the kitten would have to be old enough to eat dry food and use a litter box at minimum. Then there was the issue of whether she would get along with our other two cats. They would have to remain separated.
We decided to name our kitten. We thought we should name her after Lisa’s Aunt Barbara, but soon Barbara was shortened to “Babs .” Babs quickly let us know that she knew how to use a litter box and could handle dry food for kittens. Lisa called a local vet and got an appointment that day so we brought her in to be checked out. Babs was healthy except for fleas and ear mites. The vet gave her shots and a treatment to kill the fleas and ear mites. The vet included treatments for our other two cats as well. When we got her home, we gave her another bath and let her get used to her new home in the guest bathroom. She had quite a day.
Babs survived our being gone for the next several days and welcomed us back with open paws. She has since taken over our hearts, our house and our two cats. She is this tiny ball of energy that sees everything as a potential toy. She now races around our home like a speed demon, much to the disapproval of Spike and Sylvie, but even they seem to be coming around. Today, we found Babs snoozing on the bed near Sylvie and Spike...just one of the gang. Babs has been following Spike around the house but keeping her distance as she repressed the urge to pounce and play. Spike has been very tolerant while Sylvie tends to sniff and avoid them both...PEASANTS!
Both Lisa and I had the feeling that Aunt Barbara had a hand in bringing Babs into our lives at just that moment. She arrived out of nowhere! Barbara feared cats all her life, but perhaps she chose Babs to let us know that she was all right and no longer afraid.
God Bless You, Barbara...and Thanks!
FOOD for THOUGHT...
The news of her aunt’s passing put our trip to Chicago on hold. United Airlines was frustrating Lisa as she tried to make alternate arrangements that would allow her to fly to Dallas for the funeral and then fly on to Chicago for our reunion. My family had made plans to drive to Chicago from as far away as Des Moines, Iowa and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. It was an emotional day for both of us, but as we sat in our living room trying to figure out our options...we heard this pitiful meow coming from outside our front door.
Lisa and I looked at each other and Lisa headed out the front door to find the source of this meow for help. It led us to the side of the house behind the AC unit where we came upon this tiny gray kitten. It was a little dirty but appeared to be in good shape. We lifted it up and placed it on the AC unit to get a better look at it. The kitten did not hiss or try to get away from us, but instead began to purr loudly. She was very affectionate. It was clear that she was not a feral cat. It meant that she had to have been dumped in our neighborhood or had run away from home. She was so tiny and all alone and afraid. She was shaking with her tail between her legs.
Lisa and I have two older cats, Spike and Sylvie. They are very set in their ways, with Sylvie firmly established as the “Princess,” the alpha cat, the queen bee. I had made it clear to Lisa that two cats were more than enough for us. Spike or Sylvie would have to head to the great beyond before we could consider another cat. If we did get another cat, we agreed it should be an older cat and not a kitten. Kittens were too much work, too high energy.
With our grief and pending chaos, dealing with a lost kitten was the last thing we needed, yet strangely, we both forgot our troubles and focused on a tiny, little creature that needed our help. I said we could keep it in our guest bathroom for the night and I would find an animal shelter in the morning. I found one of the cat carriers in the garage and placed a towel inside, but first we decided to give her a bath in the sink. She was so thirsty that she began drinking the filthy bath water as we washed her. We put a little canned food in a dish along with some fresh water and she devoured it. She purred loudly and let us know that she appreciated our intervention.
The next morning Lisa and I checked on our little guest. I was still determined to drop it off at an animal shelter, but the kitten was purring so loudly and was so affectionate that we started talking about keeping it for a few days. She was really getting her “hooks” into both of us, especially me. Keeping a small kitten however would be a problem since we were about to leave home for four days. We knew Spike and Sylvie would do okay with dry food in a self-feeder and extra litter boxes, but the kitten would have to be old enough to eat dry food and use a litter box at minimum. Then there was the issue of whether she would get along with our other two cats. They would have to remain separated.
We decided to name our kitten. We thought we should name her after Lisa’s Aunt Barbara, but soon Barbara was shortened to “Babs .” Babs quickly let us know that she knew how to use a litter box and could handle dry food for kittens. Lisa called a local vet and got an appointment that day so we brought her in to be checked out. Babs was healthy except for fleas and ear mites. The vet gave her shots and a treatment to kill the fleas and ear mites. The vet included treatments for our other two cats as well. When we got her home, we gave her another bath and let her get used to her new home in the guest bathroom. She had quite a day.
Babs survived our being gone for the next several days and welcomed us back with open paws. She has since taken over our hearts, our house and our two cats. She is this tiny ball of energy that sees everything as a potential toy. She now races around our home like a speed demon, much to the disapproval of Spike and Sylvie, but even they seem to be coming around. Today, we found Babs snoozing on the bed near Sylvie and Spike...just one of the gang. Babs has been following Spike around the house but keeping her distance as she repressed the urge to pounce and play. Spike has been very tolerant while Sylvie tends to sniff and avoid them both...PEASANTS!
Both Lisa and I had the feeling that Aunt Barbara had a hand in bringing Babs into our lives at just that moment. She arrived out of nowhere! Barbara feared cats all her life, but perhaps she chose Babs to let us know that she was all right and no longer afraid.
God Bless You, Barbara...and Thanks!
FOOD for THOUGHT...
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