Getting Old

"This is getting old" sort of sums up my week. The *company* I work for announced yet another major reorg. And once again my job seems to be safe for now, which in the current economy I am grateful for. But after 11 years, 8 of which have been been spent going through layoffs and reorgs it gets a little old after a while. But if anything it has taught me how to adjust and get creative.

The vet called about the cyst on Ben's elbow. Ben is my 13 year old black Labrador retriever who I adore. The good news is it's not cancer but the bad news is in order to remove the fast growing tumor they would need to do surgery and radiation (3x a week for 10 weeks) and there is no guarantee it wont' come back or that he would even survive the surgery. And then of course there are several complications not to mention the pain and discomfort of recovery after the operation. Oh and did I mention the cost? About $5000 for an operation that won't prolong his life or make him any better off than he is right now. The good news is that right now the tumor is relatively small and not causing him any pain. However, it will grow rapidly to the size of a football or bigger. At that point he will be in pain because the large mass will start to pull and stretch the muscle, etc. So the hubby and I agreed that we weren't going to put him through surgery. So we can only hope that the tumor doesn't grow as fast as they say it will. Because as soon as he is in pain, that is when we will have to say goodbye to our sweet Benny boy. Anything else would be selfish. I can't imagine him not being part of our family and I dread the pain it will cause my children and husband, not to mention his buddy Hogan (my 12 year old yellow lab). But we will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, I will enjoy him completely.

My grandmother is 82 years old and not doing well these days. Up until this point she has been as healthy as an ox. But a series of infections, a stroke, negative reactions to medicines, lack of appetite and macular degeneration that is robbing her of sight she is growing weaker regardless of the unyielding effort of my mother to keep her alive. Like my dog Ben, no one wants to see the ones they love suffer. So although I will miss my grandma when she is not walking the earth, I hope that she only continues to stay here with us as long as she is happy and healthy and not a minute more.

Old news, old dogs and old ladies. Sounds like a song.