Oh, the emotions...

So, Friend Nichelle just became the very happy new mommy to Brody, an adorable Golden Retriever whose owner had moved into a small apartment, and recognized that the dog was unhappy.

I'm ever-so-happy for F.N., since I know she's been longing for a golden since her beloved Ben had to be relieved of his misery. And I think it'll be good for OzDog to have a 4-legged friend to talk to, since I'll bet The Boy and The Girl (6 years and almost 2 months, respectively) don't quite understand all his nuances.

But at the same time, I'm quite literally shedding tears (even as I try to type) for this woman -- whose name I don't even know -- because I know the agony she's going through right now. I've been through the process of giving up a dog to a better family, twice now. And it doesn't make it any easier even when you know what a fantastic family the dog's getting. I know that when she met Nichelle, she knew right away that BrodyTheDog would be loved, pampered, played with and cared for. And I know that she knows she's doing the right thing for Brody.

But I also know that she probably got into the car, drove about a block and a half, and pulled over to sob. She's telling herself that Brody will be happier (which it sounds like he will be), and that the pain and the guilt will subside (which they will -- but they'll never go away completely). She'll get home to her apartment and find some fur in the carpet, and the sobbing will start all over again.

Friend Nichelle will be blogging about this, both for her normal reasons, and for Brody's recent owner. I can't wait to hear how OzDog, The Bohunk, The Boy and The Girl get along with Brody, and what antics he pulls. The first picture I saw tells me that he'll be a happy addition to their family.

Oh, the emotions this pulls up.....I'll focus on those that surface when I see a golden retriever running and smiling, just cause he can. :)

Sick of it.

So, I'm taking a sick day today.

I was sortof planning to take one tomorrow anyway, just because I haven't in so very long (the last sick day I had was last year, for an interview, and before that, it was in 2001 when I broke my spleen.

So this morning, when I woke up an hour after I'd apparently turned off my alarm, I had an inkling that my body was trying to tell me something.

I went in to work as usual, had a cuppa joe and my oatmeal, and set off to going through e-mails. And my stomach set off to distract me as much as possible.

Not actually painful, I didn't feel like I needed to run to a toilet immediately, but I just didn't feel right. And I wasn't really concentrating fully on work. So a phone message was left for the boss, an e-mail was sent to the co-workers, and home I went.

I fully expected to feel better soon and be sneaking off to do an errand or two. But my stomach (perhaps this is karma for thinking about using a sick day illegitimately?) had other ideas.

The thing is, I've spent most of this day actually working after all (oh, the wonders of laptops). So, do I count it as a sick day or not? Probably will.

And now I don't feel quite so bad about the sick day I'm still planning to take tomorrow.