I related to many of the answers, including people who said their adopted animals gave them a sense of purpose.
Joan, our new cat, has been giving me a new sense of purpose as I purposefully try to prevent her from licking the infected skin on her tummy, while I do whatever I can to bond with her and promote her healing.
Joan’s sense of purpose seems to be to figure out a way to defeat every cone put around her adorable little neck, including the hard plastic cone the vet put on her last weekend at Angell Animal Medical Center.
It took Joan longer to purposefully figure out a way to lick the infected area while wearing that cone, and when I observed her doing that on purpose yesterday, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Luckily, I had purposefully ordered yet another cone online, so yesterday we replaced the Angell cone with this new one, on purpose.
That cone has been serving its purpose so far, and I hope it gives Joan a chance to heal.
Do you see a sense of purpose in my other images for today? I took several of the photos with the purpose of illustrating the concept of ripples — i.e., our actions ripple out into the world, purposefully affecting others in ways we can’t predict.
I put the photo of Joan with her cone and my tweet about National Ice Cream Cone Day together, above, on purpose.
What gives you a sense of purpose?
This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “what gives you a sense of purpose?” on purpose.
Yesterday, my husband Michael, our cat Joan, and I were waiting for hours to see a veterinarian at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston.
Why were we waiting there yesterday? Well, we’ve been waiting for over six weeks, since we adopted Joan, for various problems (mastitis, skin problems, and ear problems) to clear up. During the waiting, we’ve consulted with the adoption agency and our home-visiting veterinarian (who is on vacation), and we’ve tried oral antibiotics, injected antibiotics, ear mite medication, different cones, topical creams, and lots of patience. Despite assurances that these problems “should” resolve quickly, the waiting for Joan to get better kept going on and on.
During the weeks of waiting, my son Aaron said that when he overheard Michael and I talking for long periods of time, he knew we were talking about Joan. Michael and I wanted the waiting time to be as short and as comfortable as possible for all of us, but despite following all the advice, Joan’s conditions got better, worse, better, worse, and so on.
Yesterday, getting sick of the waiting and noticing that the problems had gotten worse again, I investigated waiting times at nearby urgent care vet centers. We didn’t expect the waiting time at Angell to be so long (when I called at 1:00 PM, I was told there was “no waiting” compared to a four hour waiting time at another facility), but there were many people and animals waiting to be seen when we got there at 2.
While I was waiting in line to check us in, I noticed that a film crew was videotaping Joan who was waiting in her carrier:
Joan is always ready for her close-up, no matter how she is waiting or what cone she is wearing. Here she is earlier in the day, waiting for this whole cone thing to be over with:
I had added the Mona Lisa mask to that soft cone to prevent her from licking her leg, but doesn’t Joan look like she’s waiting for me to take that damn thing off?
Here are photos I took while we were waiting and waiting and waiting to be seen at Angell:
While we were waiting in our assigned waiting area …
… Michael and I discussed the logic of having the cats and the birds waiting in the same place. I speculated that this was for the benefit of the cats, because having birds in the area would make the waiting more interesting.
As the waiting dragged on and on, I asked an employee there how much longer we’d be waiting. I was told, “Barring any emergencies, Joan is up next to be seen.” The waiting gets easier when the end is in sight, don’t you think?
Soon after that, I overheard somebody checking in a pet that was “very lethargic.” I wondered if that pet might bump Joan. Moments later, I noticed that a sad-looking young man had taken a seat across from us holding….a chicken.
Indeed, the chicken (named “Chicken”) did bump Joan (Chicken was in worse shape than Joan), but after another period of waiting, we did finally see a vet. The vet prescribed this cone for Joan:
While people call this the cone of shame, there is no shame in waiting to get better. The vet also put medicine in Joan’s ears, tested the bacteria on Joan’s skin, gave us more oral antibiotics, another external ear mite application, and these skin wipes which are waiting to be used at home:
There will be several more weeks of waiting before Joan is all better.
While we were waiting for Joan to be seen, I posted this on Twitter.
There are many ways to express love, as I’m seeing in the hundreds of answers to this question I posted last night on Twitter:
.
I love to remind people that there are many different ways to express love and that different people have different love languages. No matter what the love language, though, people can express love with patience, commitment, and acceptance of difference. Also, in order to love others better, it’s important to love yourself.
Don’t you love how it’s so easy to sound cliched when you’re expressing thoughts and feelings about love?
Am I expressing love by sharing my other images for today?
The Daily Bitch has an interesting way of expressing love.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “expressing love”:
Yesterday, I asked this question on Twitter about freaking out:
People were freaking out about many things, including money, health issues, work, family members, relationships, the pandemic, other people’s behaviors, etc., etc., etc. Indeed, some people suggested that a better question might have been “What are you NOT freaking out about right now?”
I didn’t answer my own question, but I was freaking out about our kitty Joan, her ongoing mastitis, and how she outsmarts us and every cone we put on her to promote its healing.
There’s Joan, trying to figure out how she can lick her wounds after my husband Michael tried to adapt her cone with a well-placed paper clip.
When I freak out, it’s usually because I feel helpless, so yesterday I ordered TWO MORE cones in addition to the inflatable cone that’s being delivered today.
Joan’s irritated area extends down into the top of her rear leg, so it’s very difficult to get a cone that completely prevents her from accessing it with her rough kitty tongue. Also, most cat post-surgery body suits don’t cover that area.
Over the past month, as we’ve treated her with antibiotics, applied topical lotion to the area, sent lots of pictures of the area to the vet, and helped Joan adjust to the different types of treatment (while trying to bond with her), we’ve seen the problem area get better and then get worse.
It freaks me out that I know so much about trying to help a cat heal, but we’re still not past this.
When I freak out, Michael tries to calm me by focusing on the positive: she’s not in pain, it’s not going to kill her, and she will get better, even if it takes much longer than we expected.
When I freak out, it also helps me to write about it in this blog. This blog — and all of you — have helped me get through many freak outs over the years.
Let’s see if the Daily Bitch is all about freaking out today.
It is!
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “freaking out.”
What might you be freaking out about right now? Whatever it is, chances are you’re not alone.
I have so much freaking gratitude for all who help me write this daily blog, including YOU!
Ann Fully understands what AF stands for on Twitter. As Funny as it may seem, AF is an Acronym Functioning as an Adverb, Friends.
Ann Finds that examples Are Fine:
I am happy As F—- to share All Fotos with you.
The Daily Bitch is bitchy AF. I’m Astonished Frankly AF to be popular AF on Twitter. Joan is resourceful AF About Finagling with Any Friggin’ cone we Attempt For her healing and I will be relieved AF when our Adorable Feline is Again Feeling better and All Fiendish cones are A Faded memory.
When I search YouTube for “AF” I Actually Find “single af” by the admirable Fousheé.
Here’s A Fitting tribute to Norm Macdonald, who was Amazingly Funny AF.
Here’s the Actual Farfetched And Funny AF moth joke:
Here’s Another Funny AF 2020 routine About Fresh And Frightening issues:
Any Found comments will be Appreciated Fully And Faithfully Answered, Following Another Fulfilling AF work day.
And Finally, I’m grateful AF for All Friends, including YOU!
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 