Warning: Number 1 is gross. Frankly, number 3 is kind of gross. Maybe this is a gross post.
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Well, that went well until we woke up one morning to find that she had BIT IT OPEN. WITH HER TEETH. BIT IT OPEN WITH HER TEETH. Egads. So we put on her Thunder Shirt to keep her from poking it at it while we went to work because we had no other solution. When I came home, it was clear that the Thunder Shirt had not accomplished this goal. I put on some gloves and squeezed all the pus and blood (THE SMELL) out and cleaned it and then we went to the pet store where we bought a cone of shame. She's now coned up when we can't watch her because it's going to drive her crazy as it scabs over and heals up.
It's no big deal, I don't think. As long as we can keep it from getting infected, it's going to be fine.
On the good news front, we have switched her to a new probiotic and it seems to have relieved a lot of her post-dinner tummy woes. I am so pleased with this and hope that it keeps up.
2) Look at all the snail mail from my friends! I love how happy my mailbox has been recently.
3) Feminine hygiene discussion alert. I am a woman who menstruates. I use a combo of pantyliners and tampons. I recently purchased a giant box of Tampax tampons (with plastic applicators) from Costco. For those of you who don't use tampons, let me set the scene for you. The kind I have purchased looks like the one in blue below. You basically insert the plastic applicator up your vagina and remove the plastic part, leaving the cotton in your body to absorb fluid.
The problem is that in this box of tampons, maybe one-quarter to one-third of them have something WRONG with the applicator. I had one where one of the plastic teeth was bent at a 90 degree angle. I had another where it looked like a saw had been taken to the smooth round end. I had another where there was no plunger part to the applicator.
I am terrified to use them. That is all.
4) Last Friday night, Dr. BB and I went to an exhibit opening at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art because one of our friend's art was chosen to be displayed. Date night for May accomplished on the second day of the month! Woot woot! The exhibit was fabulous and I instantly followed a couple new artists on Instagram. Oh, and there was another amazing exhibit by an artist named José Lerma where he painted these amazing faces with layers of thick of acrylic, so when you're standing right by the image, it's hard to see what it is, but as you move further and further away, it turns into an obvious face. If you're in Madison anytime soon, the exhibits at the MMOCA are amazing right now and admission to the museum is free.
While there we chatted with my friend and his wife and congratulated them on how all his hard work is paying off. We also met up with a couple of other folks from our town who were there. As we were talking, the conversation kept veering towards the nasty news of the day. And guess who kept trying to veer the conversation towards happier, most positive things?
IT WAS ME.
My friend's wife even asked if I had turned over a new stone and I was a bit surprised when my husband piped up and said, "it took a second Trump term for her to become an optimist."
I'm trying so hard, friends. I could easily doomscroll and worry that my Canadian friends think I'm a terrible American and that if I travel outside of the US I won't be allowed back in, worry about stateless American children who are getting deported without due process, worry about war, poverty, and abuse, worry about my mother's health situation, worry that Hannah will eventually learn that I am not the coolest person in the world, worry about what is going to happen to this next generation of children who will not have jobs and won't ever learn how to read or write thanks to AI. I could.
But instead I focus on what's in front of me. Who can I help today? What can I dance to? How can I make someone laugh? Whose accomplishments can I celebrate?
I worry about toxic positivity and I promise I won't ever be one of those people. But I am going to do my best to keep it as light as I can when I can.
5) On that positive note, on Sunday evening I washed all the winter clothes and put them away for the season. We changed from flannel sheets to regular cotton ones. I put Hannah's boots in the hall tree. I have worn sandals every day this week even though it has still been in the 40s in the morning. Temps are supposed to get in the 80s today and stay that way into next week. It is full sunlight when I walk Hannah in the morning and the sunset is after 8pm. SO MUCH SUNLIGHT.
Cold weather season is over!!!!
AND! There is stuff on the calendar that I am looking forward to. I have 20 hours of leave I need to use before July and I took off the day after Memorial Day and a random day in May. AND! Bestest Friend and I bought plane tickets for a long weekend together in July.
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Is cold season over for you? Are you as pumped as I am for the warmer weather? Do you have gross stories you'd like to share with me? Do you have anything on the calendar to look forward to?
My face the entire time I read #1: 😬 Am I ready for pet parenting, Engie? Because this sounds awful from start to finish.
ReplyDeleteI love this: "it took a second Trump term for her to become an optimist." Yes, me too. Like, what else is there to do????
Take those tampons BACK to Costco. They will take them, and they should, if they are unusable!
You're ready for pet parenting. It's better than BABY parenting, which you've been through. I mean, this wasn't the fun part of pet parenting, but there are more fun times than not.
DeleteI'm trying to picture myself taking the box of tampons back to Costco and explaining to the person at the desk all the ways that they are faulty. You know what? This is a GREAT idea, but I think I am just going to eat the cost of these tampons and go back to buying them in smaller boxes at Walgreen's. Even I am mortified by the idea of carrying the box back into the store.
I fully support eating the cost if that feels right. However, you don’t need any explanation beyond “these are faulty” or “these suck” or “I want to return these.” Costco is very good about returns and I promise they have dealt with weirder returns.
DeleteSuzanne's comment is exactly why all of us need to write what is on our minds: YES TAKE THE TAMPONS BACK TO COSTCO!!! The most genius idea that I would not have thought of.
ReplyDeleteNote to Suzanne - yes you are as ready for pet parenting as you were for human parenting. Stuff happens and you deal with it...somehow. Hannah, I hope you heal up fast so that your time in the Cone of Shame is brief.
Bravo to Optimism in the Time of Trump. Basically I burned myself out at being horrified at Bush I and Bush II, and after the initial WTF when Trump was elected the first time, I realized that I had run out of f's to give. My job is to show up and vote, and otherwise live my life. Toxic positivity is a thing, but enjoying your life regardless of who is in office is not that.
How come you have sandals weather and we don't??? Boo!!!
I guess I don't think my only job is to show up and vote. I still believe I need to be here to protect the vulnerable and less privileged. I will lobby our city council to put Narcan in the vending machines at community health, I will write all the letters I can on behalf our public library, I will provide a safe space to young people who don't have anywhere else to go, and I will fight like hell for my immigrant neighbors and friends who are truly suffering right now. But I will do it all with a smile on my face. And I will celebrate all the wins. ALL OF THEM.
DeleteWell, truthfully it's NOT sandal weather. We had frost last night, so I did wear shoes on my morning walk with Hannah. But it's supposed to get to 70 today, so I did wear sandals to work. And I wore a dress with bare legs. Will I be cold? Probably, but I'm trying to manifest warm weather over here.
Oh my god those tampons. I have never used that type but I'm kegeling like mad at the thought of them. I'd take them back, they are faulty.
ReplyDeleteI love that you are focusing on good things and optimism! Focusing on what's in front of you is the only way, I think.
Cold season is definitely over around here! It's wonderful!
Yes, I have KNOWN that local government is the key to change, but I haven't really acted on it. Now I'm truly paying attention to the little things in my own little corner of the world and acting on those. Obviously nothing is going to change how the buffoon in the White House is going to do things, but I can sway local officials and enact important change.
DeleteI'm OVER cold weather and embracing the warm.
I love it (I mean- not the Hannah story. EGADS). But I love the part where a second Trump term has driven you to optimism. I'm taking one of your questions and am going to use it as my mantra for the day- How can I make someone laugh today?
ReplyDeleteGuess what- I don't miss tampons one bit. And the great news is, you have a phase of life coming up where you never have to think about tampons again. Seriously- you will love it Menopause really gets a bad rap.
Maybe a feature on my blog will be answering those questions once every week or two. I love that in my job I get to be a helper!
DeleteI agree about taking the defective (UNUSED - OBVS) tampons back.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever tried a menstrual cup? 10/10 recommend it. You can use the same one for years, they sell sanitizers specifically for cleaning, and it's a minimal environmental footprint.
Cold weather is sorta over. It's COLD today and yesterday was sweltering. Ah, the weather. Always keeps me on my toes.
I have a few things I'm looking forward to and a few things I'm dreading. That sounds pretty on par with life, eh?
No, I haven't tried a menstrual cup for reasons. Mostly because (this might be TMI, but here we are talking about menstruation) I have issues with vaginal dryness and the one cup I tried led to tears so I'm nervous about trying to find a good fit as an older woman who has not gone through a full-term pregnancy. Honestly, I am a lucky person because my BC means I have short, intense periods so I only need tampons for a day or two and then the dryness becomes an issue and I just use panty liners.
DeleteCold weather is only sorta over here, too. We had FROST last night. Poor tulips. But they promise us 80s this weekend and I think we're turning a corner for real.
Okay, so...wow. I feel like I can't really improve upon the Wisdom of The Women Who Came Before Me in these Comments, but I will reiterate:
ReplyDelete1. Return the faulty, lousy tampons.
2. Menopause is Salvation when it comes to that bullshit.
3. It is ridiculously unfair that I am shivering in NEO and you are packing winter away in WISCONSIN. We struggled to hit 50 yesterday. It was awful, blustery, and grey. I employed my heating pad and my quilted fleece zip front pullover.
Beyond that, I am happy to hear of your new mindset in response to the current hulk in the White House. Like Birchie, I hit my Slough Of Despair during Bush II, and the first felon rapist administration almost did me in entirely. This one? This one hollowed my very soul. I'm still very active politically, but I can't let that Be My Life. I'm no Pollyanna, and I hate the Relentless Brightsiders, but I'm all about making my part of the world a better place to be. Welcome to the team!
My grandmother, mother, and oldest aunt had regular periods INTO THEIR SIXTIES, so if maternal health history has anything to say about it, I do not think menopause is around the corner for me. Also, I have no symptoms of perimenopause (outside of mood changes, which I think can be attributed to *waves hands* the state of the world), so while I think menopause sounds delightful, I am over here thinking it's still a decade or two away.
DeleteRIGHT!! I think I am not Team Nance. I can only control what I can control. I can put up the good fight, but I also need to live my life and be happy. You only have one life and I can't spend the next four years in a constant state of stress.
OMG! My mother DID NOT EVER GO INTO MENOPAUSE. She had a pregnancy scare at 45. She just kept having periods until finally, her doctor said enough is enough and she had a hysterectomy at 68. I never had perimenopause and hit menopause at 52 the exact summer I retired. It was magnificent.
DeleteI think you misunderstand Team Nance. All I mean is that you are making your part of the world a better place to be: you're making people laugh, being kind, being helpful, etc. You don't have to be politically active to be on TN. You just have to resolve not to be Part Of The Problem.
I am Team Not Part of the Problem. GO ME!!
DeleteTemperatures are still a bit up and down here but certainly trending upward. I wore a short-sleeve for the first time this week as well as my light spring-fall jacket.
ReplyDeleteI'm 100% sandal lady now. I refuse to move back.
Delete"I worry about toxic positivity and I promise I won't ever be one of those people."
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm not sure I could take another overly happy by denying reality person in my life. I keep what I do online light, snarl more in my real life. This administration will not steal my happy from me but it will also not turn me into someone lost in a fantasy world. There is a balance.
Yes, there is a balance. I think I was trending into doom and gloom for a bit, so I had to rally. If everyone else is going to worry, I'm going to let them do that and focus on the good I can do in my limited realm.
DeleteOooh, where did you buy plane tickets to!! Tell us more! How fun to go on a trip with your friend!
ReplyDeleteI also would be inclined to take the tampons back. That is super annoying.
And oof, #1 sounds rough!! And now I'm thinking of the cone of shame episode of Bluey. I feel like I can relate most life experiences to a Bluey episode these days...
Ha! I feel like I need to watch Bluey. I am missing an important part of popular culture.
DeleteWe're going to spend a few days in Seattle in July! We're excited!
I've definitely taken all sorts of things back to Costco. A lot of the times the reason is "We didn't like them." They don't care. They just want to process your return and move on to the next person. Also - where was quality control on that box of tampons?????
ReplyDeleteYou are an amazing pet parent.
I have so many gross stories... Can I tell you about the time my 13 year old got her first period and i had to teach her to put in a tampon and IT GOT STUCK? Is that gross? Actually, I think it's just funny. I mean not at the time. But it's funny now. I feel like we should move away from period stories being labelled gross.
I was almost going to say it was too hot this past week (it was in the 80s in DC.) but then today it is rainy and cold and I'm back to sipping my hot tea while wrapped in a sweatshirt. So.. I guess I'm going to complain regardless of the weather, unless it's in a very narrow window of mid 70s and cloudy.
Oh, no! Poor you! Poor your daughter! No one showed me how to use tampons. I just read the insert that comes in the box like I was preparing for an exam. And worried a lot about toxic shock syndrome. I mean, I think blood and bodily fluids are gross. If you told me a story about snot, I'd probably think that was gross. It's not necessarily that it's period related, but just BODIES ARE GROSS.
DeleteIt was 33° when I went on my walk this morning, but looking at the 10-day forecast, I'm confident this was the last cold morning of the season.
ReplyDeleteI love that the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art is free! Tara and I went last year and it was such a great experience. It's exactly the reason we left Rapid City three years ago. South Dakota has NO culture. Wisconsin rocks.
We do have a lot of hidden gems here! I came from Minneapolis/St. Paul, though, so sometimes I get nostalgic for even more culture. Oh, well. It's not like I'm going to art galleries every week.
DeleteI had the a/c on today, it was low 90s. I HATE THAT. Why can’t it just hover at 82? Oh, wait, it can. Move to Hawaii. Sigh. Monday it’s supposed to be low 60s for a high, and maybe rain.
ReplyDeletePoor Hannah, the cone of shame! We got Mulder one of those donut ones that kept him from being able to reach anything, but it was easier for him to eat and drink and it didn’t bonk into our shins.
If we were local, I’d take those damn tampons back for you.
When I think of gross pet stories, I think of when Sarah’s dog Beatrix’s anus popped out and they had to push it back in. That cannot have been fun.
The donut one would have been an option if the affected area weren't so far back on her haunch. I'm pretty sure she'd still be able to get at it with the donut, so the cone of shame it is. She's only really wearing it when we're sleeping or at work, so it's not as bad as it might be for her.
DeleteSometimes are pets lead us to doing not fun things, that's for sure!
Oh, the MMOCA website is wonderful! I spent quite some time looking at all the art, and I love how they show the pieces on the walls so I could get a better sense of their sizes. It must have been so cool to see everything in person. And I’m so curious to know….which art was your friend’s? If you don’t want to say, it’s OK. But how cool to have art in the museum!
ReplyDeleteGuzzo Pinc is my friend - go check out his cool stuff! We have one of his paintings in our house!
DeleteSorry, I was signed in with the wrong account! The above comment was from me!
ReplyDeleteLove all the celebrations here, Engie--your date with Prof. BB, your long weekend with Bestie, your snail mail cache... I think that's the way to weather this nightmare, through our people!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think we just need to focus on community to get through this. *sigh* I hope some people have learned lessons.
DeleteI am AMAZED at all of the people telling you to return the tampons. Am I just too prudish?! LOL. I COULD NEVER. I would just eat the cost because I would be way too embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteI could not get through the first point. I am a hearty pet parent but I needed to move on. I hope all is well with Hannah!
I love that you've become more of an optimist. I have not at all. I'm just over here stewing in my anxiety and fear that we're entering authoritarianism. Sigh.
Yes, Stephany, I'm 100% going to eat the cost. LOL. Perhaps that's why you and I have to report what we spend every month and everyone else has their shit together.
DeleteDon't stew, Stephany! Just work on what's in front of you and what you can change!
I am as excited for the warm weather. I love summer. I love hanging by the pool with a book. Let’s go!
ReplyDeleteI change multiple diapers a day for a living, so gross stuff is sort of my thing. But Hannah’s issue wins in the grossness category.
I was outside SO MUCH TODAY. Yay for warm weather! I'm back feeling like a human!
DeleteI would also take the tampons back BUT! I have a secondary option if you don't feel comfortable with that. I personally use OB, which don't have an applicator, and they work just fine. You have to use your finger to insert, wash your hands and voila. So you could take the cotton part out of the plastic and just insert them manually. That said, I would return them . Costco won't even ask questions, especially it's a dude, who will be way more embarrassed than you are!! And if it's a lady, she'll totally understand! Win win!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's a good idea. I'll see how easy it is to take the applicators off. I've used OB in a pinch before (they don't fit me quite right), so I have done it manually before!
DeleteReading some of the comments about women who never went into menopause... if I weren’t already in it, that would send me over the edge. Also, not to brag, but—I don’t miss having periods. That is definitely a perk to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteI don’t love talking about all the doom stuff either. I’m trying to focus on just putting one foot in front of the other—sung in my head like a Rankin and Bass film. I really hope you know what I’m referring to.
Weather is definitely on the warmer side. However it is unusually cold during the nights.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was an exchange student in the US back at 17 and wanted to get tampons I was flabbergasted. I had never seen tampons with applicators. I didn't know how to use them. My host mom graciously steered me to the aisle but then left me since she didn't use tampons. I had no clue how I was gonna get that inside my body. I finally figured it out after wasting a ton.
I personally think it is such a waste of plastic/material. But I guess its what one grows up with.