Dear Arianna, February 27, 2013

Dear Arianna,

    Today  Mommy and Daddy are sad.  We have been helping with money and supplies a dog named Lucy.  She is a Cocker Spaniel who, when pregnant, was dumped by her owners at a high-kill shelter.  She was rescued by a foster rescue group by a wonderful person named Elina Kaufman.  Twice we have sent care packages of food and goat's milk and when Lucy had her puppies, all six puppies seemed healthy, as did Lucy, and all were getting stronger.  Rather suddenly, Lucy took a turn for the worse.  She was rushed to the emergency veterinarian with a condition called pyometra.  It is a disease of the uterus and urinary tracked that is found in pregnant dogs and cats who have not had proper care and feeding while pregnant   Lucy had a  temperature of 106 degrees and required a complete blood transfusion to keep her alive.
    Her white blood cell count had fallen to zero, so she had no ability to fight off infection.  After the transfusions, they did more blood tests on her to check her white blood cell count.  Hey noticed something unusual in her blood so they ordered more tests.  She was then diagnosed with distemper, which is caused by the rabies virus.  Adult dogs can survive distemper with intense antibiotics, but it does leave brain damage.  Even more tragic, she passed the virus on to four of her pups.  If the previous owner had ever been responsible  or the kill-factory shelter done the right thing when they took her in, they would have given her a rabies shot.  Even if she had had distemper at that time, her puppies would have passed immunity to it while still in the womb.  Instead, they did nothing.
   Elina today had to do what I could only imagine was the most terrible decision she had to make.  Four of the puppies started to have seizures and trouble walking.  The distemper had damaged their brains and was getting worse.  She had to put four of the puppies to sleep today.  There is still hope that mama Lucy will pull through and thus far, two of the pups shoe no signs of distemper, so we can pray for their good health.
    In many ways, this reminds me so much of Sterling, whose owners dumped him at the age of 10 at the shelter with terminal cancer.  It makes me so frustrated with humanity, that there is so much disregard for life and so much inhumanity.  Then, I have to remind myself that there are good people like Elina Kaufman and others in the rescue community who do everything they can to save and heal these wonderful animals.  From what I have read today on Facebook, I can see that she is in such a bad way mentally from what has happened that she may need to take a break from rescue.  I can understand that, and I also wish that everyone loved animals as much as she did so we wouldn't need rescue groups and we wouldn't have to deal with bad shelters.
    Your own boys, Ian and Turlough, are quarantined right now because they are getting spayed and micro-chipped tomorrow.  I wanted to finish this rather sad letter with a picture of you with your boys, whom you love so much.  It makes your Mommy and Daddy so happy that you are so loving and wonderful with animals.  I wish that more people had your immense heart.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 26, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Today was a nice Tuesday, because I got a snow day and school was closed, so I got to come home early.  Well, early for me, which means I was home by 7:30.  Your Abuela was here and she was making home made chicken soup, which was quite a treat for dinner.  After you and I ate, we headed downstairs and played with your My Little Ponies.  We sorted them by size and type (Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn) and then you went into imaginationland making up all kinds of pony stories.  We talked about cutie marks and magic, and all things pony.  I can safely say that thanks to you, I know a heck of a lot more about My Little Ponies and Canterlot than I think I ever will about real ponies and horses.

Do you see Misty sleeping underneath?

    Because the basement was getting cold, we came upstairs with your ponies and were playing with them on the white tables in the living room.  Then, we were both getting sleepy and headed upstairs while Mommy stayed downstairs to talk to her Mommy.  Being the kind of father I am, we watched James Bond together. It was a good one, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".  When it finished  we moved onto to a very very bad one, "Diamonds Are Forever".  Like your Grandma, this Bond movie put you to sleep.  That is, until I went downstairs to make your lunch and spend some time with your Mommy.  Within five minutes, you were crying for me, and when I did eventually come up, you were sitting in the middle of the bed looking like you were ready to fall over.  You snuggled up next to me and were asleep within 30 seconds.  That gave me a little more time with Mommy before it was bedtime for us as well.
    All in all, it was a very nice evening to spend with you.  I will keep going to school because I need to make sure to have the education I need to keep myself employed so that I can pay the pills, but having a little Daddy-Daughter evening together was worth more than all the money in the world.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 25, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Today we got a package from a friend of Mommy's named Jaclyn, who lives in England, but is from Finland   While she was on holiday back in Finland, she sent a package of goodies for your Mommy and for Titi Alma.  There was special chocolate for you and Mommy and nail polish for Titi.  The chocolate contained hazelnut so I just asked you what you thought of it.  Your review: "Bleech, this is not good chocolate for me."  Mommy liked it though.  I abstained as I am trying very hard to get my weight down.

    Also in the mail today was a catalog from Toys R Us, where you proceeded to go through and like just about everything in it.  You were especially fond of the outdoor bouncy house, a power wheels car, and Playmobil, which is Swedish come to think of it, so it turns out that we have some kind of Scandinavian theme going on tonight.

    Besides fun with the mail, we solved the mystery of your missing violin.  You had put it in a different locker in the music room of your school and didn't remember where it was.  The school found it today and it has been returned.  This made us all very happy.  You were practicing tonight, but because your violin had been locked up for a week, it sounded screechy.  You told us it was because the bow dried out and needed more resin, you were right!  You certainly are learning all about your instrument.  There will be a concert in April, and we are working very hard to build up your courage to perform.  We are so proud of you.
    We listened to a lot of orchestral music tonight because you like to hear the violin, and since Daddy has plenty of classical music and real film scores to listen to, I might just find a way to fix the radio in my car enough that it plays orchestral music.  I can't make any promises on modern pop, though.
     We are all headed off to bed now.  We've all been staying up too late, and have been cranky in the morning because of it.  Perhaps we all just need a vacation.  The work weeks are long and school is very time consuming so it would be nice to have a week off to relax together.  You were getting tired tonight and yelled at me for not being able to find a tape measure for you to play with.  Afterwards, you made me these lovely notes telling me that you love me, which made us both feel better.  That's why being a family is all about.

I love you, too.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 24, 2013

NB.  Part 1 of this letter is written by Mommy and Part 2 by Daddy

Part 1:
Dear Arianna,
    Today, Mommy and Daddy overslept that we did not even go to church.  We were so tired, sleepy, and we did not wake up until about 10 am.  (Well, the kittens woke us up at 6 am, but we went back to sleep).  You see, we missed you.  You were not there to kick the covers. I guess we are used to sleep with you, and you with us.  I know eventually you will want to be in your own room.  One thing that we forgot to write about in yesterday's letter is that you modeled for me the scarves that were sent to Little Bear to be auction. Little Bear is a black kitty, just like your Ian, but he was born with some problems with his legs.  The back legs are backwards, and the front legs are not how the paws should be so he needs a surgery to help him walk on his paws, not his elbows.  So, Grandma and me made some scarves to send for the auction. I know you love animals very much, and I hope one day we can volunteer together or do something that will help so many animals in need.  You already love you kittens, and you are so good with them, that I know you will be awesome!

 

    After these pictures we rushed to the post office so the scarves will be in their way...But, while you and I were at the post office, Daddy decided to clean up a bit so we could have pancakes.  I don't remember the last time that we had some.  Since you love to crack the eggs, now I can make you eat a little bit of eggs, and one huge pancake.  Daddy got all the ingredients out, and you two were the chefs.  Mommy was the assistant because she just cooked all the stuff.

    Yummy Pancakes! You ate yours as usual with nothing, while Daddy added syrup, and Mommy tried her new Lingonberry jelly and whipped cream.  Delicious!

Love,
Mommy

Part 2:
       You didn't come home until after 3:30 this afternoon, and Mommy and I missed you very much.  We went grocery shopping while you were out and while we were putting groceries away, Ian decided that he wanted to share some snugly time with Mommy.

     When you did come home, your kittens missed you so much that when you went to lie down on the couch, they jumped on your tummy and flopped down.  Turlough was so happy to see you, he was licking your shirt to clean you.
    Mommy went to the store again to pick up some food containers from Marshall's  and you decided to stay home with me, since Daddy is not a bigger lover of stores.  You went on a crazy My Little Pony kick since you were deprived f seeing it for a whole one day, while I was lounging around watching James Bond.  The evening's movie was "You Only Live Twice".  When Mommy came home it was time for me to study, and you went off to read and draw.  Mommy did come home with a scratching bed for the cats, which they seem to love.  She also bought you a Littlest Pet Shop and nail polish for the both of you, which you seemed to love, too!

      So, we all had a busy, adventure filled weekend, and I am trying to finish up my studying so hopefully, very soon, this class will be done with and I can focus back on you and Mommy.  That is where I really want to focus my time.  I love you.

Love,
Daddy
 

Dear Arianna, February 23, 2013

N.B.  Another letter from Mommy.

Dear Arianna,
    This day must have been very boring for you because you kept begging that you wanted to see your cousins.  You wanted to have a sleepover with them.  You asked so much that I told you "if you want to go, you need to call your Titi, and ask her".  You see, the truth is that you hate the phone.  You hate when it rings.  Like I said in a post in Facebook, I am going to remind you that when you are a teenager, and you keep asking me for your own cell phone. But, you did call her.  You asked her if you could go for a sleepover, and they were already driving to go visit Uncle Tony's sister that she said yes, and she picked you up within 15 minutes from calling her.  That did not leave much time to get your bag ready, and to bundle you up since they were going sledding.  You love snow so you were so excited.  Your cousins plus their cousins made for an exciting outing for you. You love to have so many kids around you. You keep asking for a sibling.  I wish I was younger.  Or maybe in a little while you won't care.  We'll see what life says about this.

    I did not know that Titi and her family were going sledding until they picked you up, and Uncle Tony asked me if I wanted to go, but to tell you the truth I was too tired.  Daddy had just left for work, and that gave an afternoon to myself.  I can't recall the last time this happened.  I was bored at first until I decided to investigate new places to eat, new stuff to do.  Hopefully, when it is not so cold we can plan some nice picnics and other adventures.  So, Saturday for mom was not much activity.  Daddy had to work, and you had tons of fun.  I miss you sweety pie, but I am glad that you are enjoying yourself.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Arianna, February 22, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Today was kind of a weird day.  I don't think any of us, you, Mommy, or me, were feeling quite ourselves today.  Mommy thinks it is the weather, and I think that is a big part of it.  The snow did come through last night, and though it was not the snowpacolypse that some were predicting, it still did dump five inches down here on the South Side which was enough for me to have to shovel in the morning.  This threw us out of our morning routine, so while I went to shovel the car out, you had to get yourself ready for school on your own. When I dropped you off at school and took you to your class, you very very weepy and clingy this morning. It was so bad than Ms. Power and Mrs. Hughes had to hold you from running after me in the hallway as I left for work.  I waved at you through the window but I saw all of the tears, and this made me sad.  I know that you were over tired and you hate our morning routine being upset.  Add some cold and snow that no one really wants to see as we get closer to March, and it was just an odd morning.
    I only had to work a half-day today, since I worked on Saturday and they weren't going to pay me overtime, so I worked from home.  It was a busy and weird morning work-wise, too.  My boss is sick and over-stressed about a big project that is going on and the team has a lot of back-biting and infighting going on right now, too, so I do what I've done since I started this gig just over a year ago -- I put my head down and do my work and stay out of the politics of workplace politics.
    I picked you up at 2:45 and though you were happy to see me, it wasn't the super-hug yelling of normal.  You just seemed tired.  I asked if you wanted to play in the snow, but you didn't, so when we got home, you stared playing some games while I went and shoveled out he back deck and drive.  Your Abuela came at about 3:15 to do laundry and wait to pick up Raven.  You were sad when she left and you were hoping that she would bring Raven back to our house, but that wasn't in the cards today.  We did watch some "Little House on the Prairie" together, and your Abuela told me how much she loved Michael Landon and how she watched both "Bonanza" and "Little House" when she was still in Mexico.  Your Mommy is more of a "Highway to Heaven" kind of girl, proving that there is a Michael Landon TV show for everyone.
    Mommy did make it home by 5:00 PM today which was nice.  Just as I was settling in to some tacos that Mommy brought home for dinner, I got a call from my boss telling me that I would need to work from 3:30 til midnight tomorrow back out at the Lisle datacenter, so it is looking like it will be two weeks in a row of six day work weeks, and probably another one coming up on my birthday weekend next week.
    I guess we are all really tired and have reached the point where we are ready for Winter to end.  This time of year has never been my favorite, and as your Grandpa has always joked, Summer is better because you never have to shovel heat.  Heck, I know you are tired, because you actually fell asleep before 9:00 PM, which for you is a miracle   You were getting very grumpy tonight, just like Daddy when I am over-tired, so it was bound to happen.  Even your cats were so worn out that Betsy, who hates all other cats, is sleeping next to Ian and Turlough with you on the couch.

Kitty Détente

    At least I can sleep in tomorrow with you and Mommy and don't have to leave to work until 2:45 PM, so we can spend some time together.  Maybe we can buy that bed you want on Sunday.  I love you.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 21, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    The other least favorite day of the week, Thursday is done.  The professor let us out of class at 9:00 PM so that we could drive home in front of the snow that was coming in from the west.  I made it home with plenty of wind but no snow.  That didn't start until about 11:00 PM, but I am not complaining that I got to leave class early.  It meant that I could see you and Mommy.
    Two packages came today.  The first was Daddy's new phone.  It looks to be a very nice phone, but I will need to take it to TMobile tomorrow to have a new mini-SIM card assigned to it and have my old SIM card deactivated.  Hopefully, if you are reading this sometime in the future, that will make you smile and shake your head just as I would when your Grandma would tell me about party lines when they first got their telephone installed.
    The other package was more exciting.  Mommy has rejoined her monthly foodie club.  This is a group of folks who draw each other's names and exchange food gifts with each other.  It's very much like pen pals for your taste buds.  The big thing is that the foods should be interesting, and not something you'd pick up in the grocery department of Wal-Mart.  Mommy had stopped participating for awhile, but all things crafty really help Mommy stay sane and put up with Daddy, so she rejoined.  Besides, nothing makes your Mommy happier than a good meal, so it is the perfect group for her.

    The package contained seaweed snack, sun dried tomatoes, almond and coconut bar, white chocolate macadamia nut bar, raisin rosemary crisps, a jar of crunchy cookie butter, and caramel bites.  Mommy tells me that she is totally in love with the caramel bites.  She also loves to eat seaweed, because she is crazy.  The candy bars are all going to be work snacks.  The only thing she is not sure about is the cookie butter, which is the one I am the most interested in trying.  It's certainly fun to open up the surprise box each month, because you never know what you are going to get.  That sounded like something Forest Gump would say.
    Here are the pictures of you and Mommy opening the box and pulling out the goodies.  (I am not in them because I was the official picture taker.):

 

    I would say, it was a very tasty way to end the day.  We love you very much.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 20, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Tonight we had a visit from our our friend, Jamie.  We had not sen her since before the holidays, so it was nice to catch up with her and see that she is doing and feeling much better than she did last year.  Since you were so excited to see her, you were in full tilt mode all evening.  I think you tapped into energy reserves we didn't know you had to show off everything from your story telling to your dance moves to your new tooth.  You two even talked about riding horses and how you would like to ride a Pegasus pony most of all.
    We went and had dinner down at Las Fuentes, where you once again ordered the traditional Mexican dish of chicken strips and French fries.  Your little experimenter / scientist came out again tonight as you wanted to mix everything together, make your own scratch and sniffs using black pepper and the sticky part from the paper napkin rings, and add enough pepper to my caldo de pollo to make my eyes water up for the entire meal.  With all of the excitement, only Jamie took pictures, and I need her to send a copy over to me so that I can post it up into your letter.
    By the time we came home you were desperate to show her your room and more of your Ponies.  Jamie also really like the telescope that your Uncle Ron and Aunt Evelyn gave you for Three Kings Day and we will have to set up a stargazing party in Spring in Indiana where we are cursed with all of the light pollution of a Chicago sky.  I, for one, think you are such an amazing girl that you could convince folks who thought they'd never want to have children to give it a go, even if you can be such a spitfire.
    Right now, as you can see from this picture of you playing with your artist's model, you are stubbornly refusing to go to sleep until I finish writing because when you go to bed before me you always have nightmares.  So, it's time to finish up this letter and take you to bed, my sweet little firecracker.

Stubborn & Sleepy

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 19, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    It's Tuesday, which means it is one of my two least favorite days of the week to go along with Thursdays, because these are the days I hardly see you.  You were very happy to go back to school today after having Monday off.  Since your cousins are all in the CPS which was on strike this school year, they didn't have President's Day off, so you didn't have any kids to play with yesterday.  You were especially happy to see Phoebe so you could play with your My Little Ponies together.
    You were up and sleepy by the time I got home just past 10:00 PM and it was nice to see you and Mommy, and especially nice that Mommy had made a nice Mexican salad for me instead of my normal late night Lean Cuisines.
    One thing that I was really thinking about tonight was how creative you are.  You like to take objects around the house and make things with them.  A perfect example is the paper man you made today with some USPS flat rate boxes and some memo pads we found.  It doesn't matter what we have around the house, you will make something of it, and I find that amazing and wonderful.  You have a great imagination and are very creative and don't always have your nose stuck in front of a screen, and all of those things, I think, are fantastic.

 The Mailman

    There never seems to be enough time left in the nights these days, but I love you and we'll see what episode of Mythbusters we watch together tonight.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 18, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Can you believe it, this little blog of letters to you reached 5,000 page hits today.  It gives me hope that there are lots of people in the world who are just like us in wanting to create a loving family and help those around them to make the world a better place.  I may sound like a dreamer, but if you knew what a cynic your Daddy used to be, I think you'd find my worldview now quite different.
    One of the things that is very important especially to Mommy is taking care of animals.  When Mommy was a little girl, she moved around a lot in Mexico and in many of her family members with whom she stayed, she was not allowed pets.  The only cat she had was named Minino, who she was allowed to keep for only two weeks, and this was before your Titi Alma was born.  When they took her cat away from her, they told your Mommy that she was allergic to cats and that is why they had to take it away.  This is not true.  The truth is that her Uncle didn't like cats and didn't want one in the house, but Mommy did not know this at the time.
    If we jump many years into the future, to the year 2000, Mommy and Daddy bought a condominium together, and after trying to take care of a dog, which was too hard for us to do at the time, I told Mommy that I wanted a cat.  Mommy still thought she was allergic to them, but somehow I convinced her to go to the Animal Welfare league in Chicago Ridge and take a look, just a look, I told her.  Well, I fell in love with a 10 year old silver tabby named Sterling, and we took him home.  What we didn't know at the time, but would soon after is that Sterling's previous owners dumped him because he had cancer.  He only lived about a month with us before he died at the veterinarian when we took him in very sick.  It was heartbreaking.
    We then went to the Welfare League again a few days alter, and I fell in love with a big three year old Norwegian Forest cat named Penny.  You knew Penny, and we had her for 7 years before she died of congestive heart failure.  That was also very devastating   It is hard to lose our pets, but we love them so much when they are part of our lives, and we never forget them.

Gone in life, but not in our hearts.  Sterling (left) and Penny (right)

Lucy

    I guess I was thinking about Sterling and Penny tonight because one of thing that Mommy and Daddy do is donate to rescue groups for animals, to help in need animals find forever families, and in many cases, pay for their medical care so that they can get better.  One of the dogs that we have bought food and milk for is very sick tonight and at the emergency vet, and I am thinking about how her foster parents must feel tonight.  She is a mother of young puppies and now has a 106 degree fever.  I hope that she pulls through.
    Our cats now, Betsy who came a month after Penny was adopted from the Welfare League  Misty, who  two years later in 2002, was adopted from the Bolingbrook Humane Society.  Jack moved in three years ago, after spending a summer living in our back yard.  Mommy opened the patio door and he came in and has been with us since.  And you know the story of OC / Jelly, White Tummy / Bean, Fuzzy Tummy / Ali, and Ian and Turlough.  Along the way, we continue to feed the stray cats who come by, and continue to keep a warm outdoor cat house ready.  The current tenant is the old orange tabby who stays close to our house but never wants to come in.  Our one neighbor gets mad that we take care of strays, but we will continue to do it, because it is the right thing to do.  For us, we are the voice for animals   We can chose to be cruel or chose to be kind, and we will always chose to be kind.

Napping Ian

    It makes me happy and proud that you love your cats so much, and the bond that you have with animals.  Even now you talk about how you will take Ian and Turlough with you when you go away for college.  With the love and care you show them, I will not be surprised.


Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, February 17, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    I am back to write today's letter.  I really have to thank Mommy for helping me write the daily letters to you.  I've been having to work on Saturdays and use up most of my Sunday afternoons and evenings on school, so it is good that Mommy can tell you all about our adventures together as a family.  I spent most of your Abuela's 60th Birthday party yesterday in front of my computer, updating my company's VMware hosts (yes, it's as tedious as it sound).  Luckily, we have a small house and my computer in in the corner of the dining room, so I wasn't away fro you all and I was able to eat my boneless buffalo wings one handed (with a fork), and didn't miss out on the cake and presents, either.

Waiting for lunch

    Today after church I think wanderlust took over in me after being stuck behind monitors for six days in a row, and it was a clear cold February day, so I drove us over to Ikea.  It was much busier than I thought it would be, but I guess in the cold Chicago winter, people want to get out and walk around somewhere.  We started off with lunch.  You and Mommy shared chicken strips, while I had Swedish meatballs.  You ate half of your chocolate cake, and left the frosting-less remains for me to munch on.  By taking care of the frosting yourself, you are no doubt helping Daddy keep his calorie count down.
    Another reason we went was to do some window shopping for new furniture.  Every time we have a get-together, we are reminded how we just don't have enough seating for people after we get up from the dining room table.  In fact, we don't have enough sitting for the three of us when we are home by ourselves.  We all like to lounge on our couch, but the couch that we have right now isn't so good for lounging, so we were on a mission to find a nice comfy couch that we can actually afford, hence going to Ikea instead of a place where the sales folks will follow you around like you have a target on your back.  You really have a thing for sofa beds and recliners, and made sure to try them all!

    Lounging around, all comfy-cozy

We like this chair in blue

    We actually did end up finding a couch and chairs that we like, and when we have the budget for them, we will come back and pick them up.  The couch has a built in chez at one end and a movable super-sized ottoman so that it can have four people lounging / laying down, while it still has room for two more people to sit.  We also found some wing chairs that we like which have high back and sides for resting your head while reading.  I think our living room will look nice and comfy once we have them in.  And with our five cats, we can really go for the removable slip covers to take care of all the spills, chills, and thrills that having five cats can do to our furniture.

Your future bed

    The other thing that we were window shopping for was a new bed for you.  We wanted you to choose it so that we can actually start getting you to sleep in your room.  We looked at all of the different options, and you liked this bed.  What you liked most about it is that it matches your dresser, and it has a pull-out bed underneath so your cousins have a place to sleep when they have their sleep overs.  You also told us that it would be good for you as you practice sleeping on your own.  You can sleep up top while Mommy or Daddy sleeps below until you get used to sleeping on your own.   You liked this bed so much that you started crying when another family was looking at it, until we explained that there was more than one for sale.
    After all that window shopping, we did pick up a few things.  You chose a new play rug that has a racetrack on it, we got some light bulbs for Mommy's lamp, new slip covers for our dining room chairs and you got a little wooden cobbler's table with a hammer and pegs.  I am pretty sure your Uncle Ron had the 1970's version of this when he was a little boy.  As we left the store, you got Mommy a cinnamon roll and you got yourself a vanilla frozen yogurt.  You even paid for it yourself.  I was very proud of you.
    After all of that adventure, we were pretty tired and headed home.  You kittens, as always, were happy to see you and when you went to take a nap on the couch, they quickly jumped up to take a nap with you.

Kitten love with Ian and Turlough

 

    The rest of the afternoon was pretty laid back.  After napping, I went to studying, Mommy went to writing your letter and whipping up some quick dinner, and you hammered away of your cobbler's bench until you got sleepy and headed up to bed with Mommy.  Now it's time for me to wind down and turn in myself.  You have no school tomorrow for President's Day, so I hope I remember to drive you to Titi Alma's house first without detouring to your school.

Love,
Daddy