She Will be Missed

Cocoa, begging in the kitchen

it is with a heavy heart and tears in my eyes that i share that Katie and I have made the very difficult decision to put Cocoa down. Last January, she had been given a month – we have been blessed to have 11 since we were given that news. It has been a very up and down roller coaster of a ride with mostly highs throughout, but she has been pretty bad this last week. The kidney issues that she’s always had and been able to handle without showing any signs of problem, has really taken its hold on our four-legged family member. We can’t get her to eat even her favorite foods of waffles, doughnuts or even pizza (or if she will touch it she is unable to keep it down). She’s lost a lot of weight, can barely get up the stairs and can’t get in the bed (I’ve been picking her up so she is able to sleep next to me). We feel that this is the slump she won’t come out of and we want Joseph to remember the good times he has had with her and not have a lasting memory of her end. It has been very difficult watching Cocoa suffer as opposed to being her energetic, happy self.

I am very fortunate and thankful to have been able to take her out pheasant hunting for the Wisconsin opener this year – for the one final hunt. I will never forget the wonderful times we spent together in the field, her dirty looks when I missed (it has been known to happen) and the absolute joy you could see on her face as she bounded in the tall grass after upland game. She kept me company during those long road trips and would nudge my arm to get me to pet her as she sat in the navigation chair (passenger seat) of Sunshine and of course, I would comply.

Thank you to all who have kept our precious Cocoa and the family in your prayers – the myriad of notes from we still get today from KTIS’s prayer request even though Katie put that out there last January.

And to Cocoa, this has been a very difficult decision for us to make. We love you tons and I promise we’ll get some birds when we meet again.

Edit: Cocoa, being the awesome dog that she was, died silently in the back seat on the way to the vet. She was holding on for as long as possible, yet she still went on her own while Katie and I held her with tears in our eyes. So thank you Cocoa, for not making us make that decision. We love and miss you!

Life, Explained

Dog, Monkey, Cow & Man

On the first day God created the dog. God said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years.” The dog said, “That’s too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten.” So God agreed.

On the second day God created the monkey. God said, “Entertain people, do monkey tricks and make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.” The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that’s what I’ll do too, okay?” And God agreed.

On the third day God created the cow. “You must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years.” The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty.” And God agreed again.

On the fourth day God created man. God said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. I’ll give you twenty years.” Man said, “What? Only twenty years? Tell you what, I’ll take my twenty, and the forty the cow gave back, and the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back, that makes eighty, okay?” Okay,” said God, “You’ve got a deal.”

That is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family; the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

Wisconsin Politics

It’s not too often I hear much of anything regarding Wisconsin politics, which in the past has been just fine with me – living in western Wisconsin means I get Minnesota channels and Minnesota radio stations. In fact, the only way i know anything about someone who’s running in the state of Wisconsin is by yard signage that I should start to see in about a year (ugh). Since I’ve been listening to the talk radio on my way to work, I find that, unfortunately, I’m unable to avoid political rhetoric and commentary.

Regardless, this past week we found Wisconsin politics in many regional and national news outlets. Now I do not classify myself as a Republican nor a Democrat, conservative or liberal. I’ve quickly realized that Wisconsin has always been a Democratically controlled state – very liberal – and that my leanings are not liberal. I’ve mentioned before, time and time again my disdain for government as we’ve known it recently. And for the first time in a long time, I see some common sense coming out of a government official (Governor Scott Walker).

I see a lot of the B as in B, S as in S facebook ads promoting support for the unions as “supporting the working families”, which I find very odd – seeing as how those union benefits do absolutely NOTHING to support my working family. In fact, those will actually HURT my family. I work for a non-profit organization and I love what I do. If I do not do my job and/or do it well, I do not expect to be rewarded. However, if I do my job and do it well, I do expect to be rewarded – and I would hope that I would be able to keep those rewards and do what I wish with those rewards.
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