up and down, exams and sadie

today (by 'today' i technically mean yesterday, that is, friday 4 may 2001, but i haven't gone to bed yet, so i still consider it to *be* 4 may) started out great. last night, i finished my major area exam answers. this morning, i finished some last few corrections, sent them off, and went for a joyful bike ride around the 'hood. had a design meeting for the dream (midsummer night's dream, more on that in the next entry). deposited my tax refund ($568!), and went home to be there for my parent's phone call. they emailed me earlier today saying they'd call at 6.

i figured the phone call was going to be the usual, parents fawning over another milestone in a child's life. it was that, but also bad news. sadie isn't doing well at all. sadie is the family dog, a mutt (lab/shep mix, most likely). we got her from a shelter when she was a year old, in 1989. lately, in her old age, she's gotten hard of hearing and arthritic. mom said in the past 10 days she's gotten much worse. she and dad waited to tell me until after my exams. sadie can hardly walk anymore, and isn't eating as well. she can't walk up any stairs at all, which means she spends all her time at the bottom of the steps into the backyard. mom and dad both mentioned the possibility of putting her to sleep. if she's in great pain, i guess that's the best option. but, if she's not, then shouldn't we allow her to get the enjoyment out of life that she can? if she were human, and in similar health, she would be allowed to live.

when we got her, she was so thin she could fit through the windows in a paned glass door. she hated baths we gave her, with the hose, at the bottom of the driveway. when you're sitting at the kitchen table, she'll come up and push her head underneath your hand, insisting you pet her. [she'll never be in the kitchen again.] we would go running, and she'd keep me going, pulling me up the hills. we played in 2ft snowfall in the driveway in 1994; she looked yellow against the snow. mom dressed her up for holidays: reindeer antlers, bunny ears, red-white-and-blue scarves... she loved to lie in the living room, in the sunshine. she's a great dog.

every day comes with it's own surprises.