poor boo-boo leg...the stiches are hidden by her fur, but they aren't pretty. we are setting up a coleman air mattress in the livingroom tonight so we can all (hopefully) get SOME shuteye. i work tomorrow, but don't plan to stay the full day. they'll understand. i hope. she has begun her campaign of furtive stitch licking. it's a full time job to keep her away. the nurse at the vet ER said to put a small amt of deoderant near the stitches....it tastes so bad they won't lick. my girl will probably think it's candy. bill has been absolutely wonderful....i actually got out of the house for a few quick hours today. i really really needed to. i don't know how people with kids do it...or those that take care of an elderly/sick parent. i just don't know. if i'm honest with myself, i'd like to think i'd rise to the occasion, but it would be a dice roll. diva hasn't seemed interested in going potty all day. her bad leg is her balancing leg for that activity, so she has to figure it out. so as the year winds down, i have to ask myself....am i pleased with this year? have i grown? become a better person in some way? accomplished any goals i set out? i have to say - for the most part - yes. i have grown in a lot of important ways. in others, not so much, but with the growth in some areas, came the awareness of need for growth in others. that's good all around. i've also come to realize that being self-sufficient to a fault can be tiring and just plain selfISH. respecting others' opinions and accepting advice/help doesn't lesson who i am...it enhances the relationship with the other person and offers opportunity for new insight. thank you, angelfriend, for believing in me with more intensity than i believed in myself. your hand has pulled me up to a new level of vision. i thank all of my friends for walking beside me this past year. for not running past, and not slowing down. i hope i have been as good a friend to you as you have been to me....each of you deserves to have a friend as good to you as you have been to me. (yes - it's hard to follow but you know what i mean). so as i get ready to close out one the most enlightening, magnificent years of my life, i am also realizing what a whining bitch i can be! perfectionist, OCD-ish, ADD-ish....ahh, you go through the alphabet! i guess i have my work cut out for next year! but what a ride, eh? i hope you all understand the magnitude of my gratitude to you. truly...deeply...indebtedly...thankful. blessed. at night, i replay the day (over & over & over!) and try to focus on the Moments. the things said & done, and left unsaid & undone, that have been brought through my day, and i realize more and more that i am one of the luckiest people around, living the best life. not a perfect life, but for me, what is good & right. i expect some changes to come this next year....some very big, some internal, as i continue my journey. i'm nervous and excited, and welcome it all, knowing there's cool water to drink along the way, warm sun on my face, and friends to fill my soul. thank you....to the moon and back, my friends. L