Brightwood Lights

PICTURES!!

Yes, we know- the picture update is LONG overdue.  Had we somehow forgotten that fact, we would have been duly reminded by the fact that it just took us about two hours to upload them all.  That’s how many there were.  Actually, almost every single picture on the “Photos” page was changed.

Before you view them, here’s a brief description of what you’ll find:

Instead of labeling the three sets by month, as we usually do, we have split them into “June & July,” “Minnesota,” and “Maine Trip.”  The June & July set includes Simona’s first birthday, a few pictures from our first weekend away from her (when we went to a wedding in NY), and assorted summer fun in DC.

The Minnesota set includes pictures from our trip to Longville, Minnesota, where Caleb’s extended family vacations every year.  This is the first time we’ve joined them in several years.

Finally, the Maine Trip set includes pictures from our New England adventure, including two different weddings (in MA and RI), outdoor fun (boating, canoeing, and hiking), and time with family and friends (and some good lobster!).

Thanks for your patience, and be warned- viewing will take quite some time.  Enjoy!

A sad goodbye and a fond farewell. . .and becoming a “grown up.”

August 7 was an emotional day for our household.  In addition to being the third anniversary of our good friends Brett and Kangaruth, we also said goodbyes to two in our lives.

The first was mostly a celebration, actually.  Our friend Sally, whom we’ve known since our days at Northwestern, left DC today to move to San Francisco.  Though we will miss her, we know that she has been looking forward to this move for QUITE some time now.  And, on the bright side, we now have yet another reason to visit the City on the Bay at some point.

The second goodbye was more difficult, as we lost our cat Cowboy today.  Cowboy was diagnosed with diabetes in the spring of 2006 but had done quite well.  However, during our recent trip to Minnesota (I’ll post more about that later), she took a turn for the worst.  She hadn’t eaten in days, and she refused to eat after our return.  She quickly lost strength, and we decided it was her time to go.  Putting her down was quite difficult as we were very fond of her, but Simona did give her two kisses while we waited at the vet’s office.  (She’s never done that before!) 

This was a new sort of “first” for me. As a child, you are allowed the emotional reaction of wanting your pet to live forever, which is why it seemed perfectly normal to me to grow up with a three-legged dog.  As the parent, however, you are forced to acknowledge that prolonging your pet’s life through extensive medical treatment is not a good use of your resources (time or money).  Administering insulin for a year and a half was as far as we could go.  Though Cowboy may have lived longer with more tests, an adjusted insulin dosage, and the attention required to nurse her back to health, we knew what we had to do. Sigh.  Of all the “grown-up” milestones (buying a house, getting married, having a baby, etc.) I’ve reached, this made me feel the most like an adult.