Drop It Down Low, Granny! / Goodbye, Veda

I wonder if I should award the highlight of our vacation to watching my new brother-in-law’s 91 year old grandma boogie on the dance floor (No joke, she can drop it down lower than I can!)? My brother’s spotlight dance to “We Are Family” was pretty unmatchable (Ever seen Napoleon Dynamite? Yeah, well my bro’s moves are even cooler!). Or maybe it was my dad’s freakin’ awesome Father of the Bride speech (He could, and probably should, totally do stand up!)? Was it introducing my family to Thai food (They loved it!)? Was it the 0% humidity (That was glorious!?

Maybe I can’t choose just one highlight, our trip was pretty close to perfect. (I WILL be posting a video of Betty C shaking her thing as soon as I can get a hold of it!) It was wonderful to spend the night before the wedding with both of my sisters; girly looked stunning on her big day! Having not seen my dad in almost a year, it was indescribably wonderful to catch up and he came through and made some of his dee-lish salsa! Yum! Of course, it’s always a joy to see my in-laws too, and I feel so lucky that I can say that (and mean it!), it’s hard enough to find someone you love enough to share your life with and when you love your new family, too, well, that’s pretty great!

I wish I had one of those great photo blogs, at some point I’ll (hopefully) share some pictures of the wedding and those great dance clips.

Unfortunately, our trip ended on a rather sad note.

When LT Fromage and I moved to the Little Apple we left my dog, Veda, with my mom. Veda was almost totally blind and deaf even back then and often had a hard time getting back on her feet, we never knew her true age, but we can be sure that at that time she was well over 10. It was so comforting to know she was with someone who loved her as much as I did, but was able to provide what I couldn’t at that time – 24 hour a day, 7 days a week attention and care.

My mom had been prepping me for a few weeks, Veda was having more bad days than good and had developed a tumor, thankfully, she made it long enough for me to say goodbye.

Veda was the smallest dog I will ever own, weighing in at a mere 27 pounds, but as a Jack Russell terrier and Australian cattle dog cross, she wasn’t a froofy lap dog (Although, I did often paint her toenails pink and in the winter she had a fuzzy pink jacket until LT Fromage came along!). She picked me at the shelter, sitting in my lap licking my face. I wasn’t sold until the staff member informed me that this dog had been visited earlier in the day by an interested family, but Veda wouldn’t even turn to look at them once during the whole visit. The staff member was so impressed by our instant bond that I was offered a job on the spot! (Which I took. I worked there a few years, eventually becoming a supervisor for the entire customer department in one of the country’s largest shelters). Veda got me my first “real” job, she was there with me when I moved into my first apartment and later, my own house. She loved tennis balls, she loved her cat and she loved chewy caramels.

My parents made the tough decision to put down their dog, Socks the same afternoon (Who’s age was also unknown, but we know she was also at least 12 or 13). Socks joined the family 7 years ago, when her elderly owner passed away and none of the living family wanted another dog. My dad was a detective on the scene and didn’t have it in him to leave poor Socks to a fate in the shelter. (My dad brought home a CHILD one day, too, whom my family fostered for 5 months. I love my dad’s big heart)

There must be something about the month of August; this is the 5th year in a row that this month has marked the loss of a beloved pet. I hope that next August comes and goes quietly, and for now I’m so grateful for my strong mother who stayed with Veda until the end this August, because quite honestly I’m not sure I have it in me to leave another vet’s office with an empty collar for a while.

Our family time ended a little bitter-sweet, but I’m so thankful to have been a part of my sister’s wedding, that we got to spend time with both of our families, I’m thankful for my strong and caring mom and be given a chance to say goodbye.