6710 Grand

 Yesterday, we began the long (10-hour) journey to Louisville.  Our alien monkey baby is headed off to college.  It's big.  It's heavy.  Its SO exciting!!  I'm not filled with the sadness or nostalgia that I expected to paralyze me.  Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet.  Over the last few weeks, Nick and I have often talked about how HARD this last year has been.  I don't mean 2025 but rather the last school year.  So many changes and hard things--Ike in Kindergarten, Ivy driving, Isabelle having academic struggles, Iris SO very overscheduled, Ivy figuring out college, extra curriculars, the weird political climate, the economy, the unforeseen home repairs--the list continues.  And when school was finally over, we entered the summer of insanity.  Family vacation, college orientation, scout camp, the usual crazy of my work life, Nick's constant travel.  It feels like we never found that summer groove.   Yesterday, as ...

I wasn't dressed for the barns.  I had meetings scheduled.  The superintendent of the Scranton School District.  A volunteer group from Baker Tilly.  An onboarding call with our Google Ad Grant manager.  I was dressed for business meetings--a dress, hair up, fancy-ish shoes, my squisher-inner (y'all know what that is).  But when I arrived in the Art Barn on Thursday, before I could even radio to the team that I was on-site, I heard the news.  Jeremiah Jones, our biggest "big" pig, was vomiting and foaming at the mouth.  I stopped and listened.  He'd been given medication to help with his pain.  It was taking effect.  It wasn't alarming at this point but Dr. Interlandi was monitoring him.   I assumed this would change the course of the day.  I began to mentally prepare.  Indra would want to be with him.  Meetings would be moved, cancelled or rescheduled.  I might need to handle them myself.  This wa...