Animals
The Secrets to a Successful Marriage
Jan 19th
Will & Sara at McPherson Park in Greenville, SC
As of today Sara and I have been married for 9 years! It’s been a long road and I can’t believe all of the things we’ve seen, said, and done. Some days I feel like we’ve always been together and others it feels like no time at all. One thing is for sure, I am the luckiest guy in the world.
On January, 19th 2001 we piled into Sara’s white 1991 Mitsubishi Montero with Ben Chabot and his then fiance Caitlin and drove to the Little Wedding Chapel in Easley, SC. I remember our family and friends packing into the woefully small chapel and laughing with us through the next 30 minutes of comedy gold.
Highlights:
- Meeting the minister minutes before the ceremony in his bright yellow plaid suit and matching bowtie; (un)fortunately(?) he wore a robe for the ceremony
- Sara’s mother thinking that her father had already, “given away the bride,” but not heard it as he is somewhat deaf and whispering very loudly while crouching and tugging on him to sit down
- Sara and I being forced to stand and bend uncomfortably over the kneeling bench we asked be removed several times. That’ll show them! We’ll stand and bend over you uncomfortably!
- The operatic rendition of the lords prayer with trademarked country twang played on a cassette deck that had the entire chapel in peals of laughter by the end
- My botching of my vows, “with this ring I be wed…,” WTF was I thinking?
- Being trapped with my Grandmother Byrd during the reception who I believe was still convinced that I was either gay or had impregnated Sara and was forced to marry her; I still cannot understand how these conflicting ideas can occupy the same place in anyone’s head…
- Sara being trapped during the reception with a mutual friend who had been gone all summer and was desperately in love with her
- Sara’s father is the spitting image of Norm Abrams. I’m not kidding. My Grandfather Wayne is quite the furniture builder and artist and was convinced we had no small celebrity on our hands and felt compelled to introduce himself and discuss his love of the New Yankee Workshop. Both men are slightly hard of hearing so the conversation went something like this:
Grandfather Wayne: “I’m Hugh, Will’s grandfather.”
Sara’s Dad: “No, I’m Sara’s dad, Jerry.”
Grandfather Wayne: “No, I’m Hugh, Will’s grandfather.”
Sara’s Dad: “No, I’m Sara’s dad, Jerry.”x20 or so until Sara walked up and straightened them out…
- Being pelted by birdseed so hard it left marks and Sara shaking birdseed out of her over styled hair for about a week after
- Leaving the wedding with Ben and his fiance to head home for champagne
- Champagne had been left in the freezer by someone and exploded into champagne slushy
- Going to Nick’s Tavern to drink with some friends when your freezer is full of champagne slushy
- Getting almost too drunk to consummate your marriage and finally managing it way too late above the heads of your best friend and his fiance who for some reason were spending the night
Multiple Sclerosis : Year One
Jan 16th
MRI images from the side make you look like a monster!
My first year of MS diagnosis wrapped up about a month ago and I’ve been reflecting on all the randomness and misinformation about the disease. As a lot of things in my life begin to come together (I’m growing up finally!) I find myself mourning the diagnosis more now than I did initially. Here comes the first downer post of 2010!
No one knows what causes MS and there is no cure. The idea of the cure is threefold: 1 – prevention of the disease, 2 – prevention of further progression of the disease, and 3 – reversal of disability caused by the disease. Theories are that those genetically prone to it may have it set off by exposure to a virus (probably the Epstein-Barr virus), that is is solely due to a vitamin D deficiency, and that a vascular disorder causes a backup of blood that leads to iron deposits in the brain. At any rate, the effect is that the immune system attacks the central nervous system, destroying myelin and the nerves that it protects. About 3/4 of all those diagnosed with MS are women.
The naming of the Kitten
Dec 11th
Kim Novak and Pyewacket in Bell Book And Candle
We decided to go with Pyewacket for the name of our new seal point Siamese kitten. Pyewacket was Kim Novak’s familiar in the movie Bell Book And Candle. (Yes she was a witch in the movie!)
We finally agreed to the name a few weeks ago but things have been so hectic I haven’t had time to post about it much less think about posting here. More posts are coming, we promise!
So we got a new kitten last weekend…
Nov 15th
The new Kitten and Galileo, not fighting for a change...
Well I am a week and a half late with this but better late than never. The wonderful Dianne Alexy of Alexy Cattery listened to my long tale of Vlad’s battle with cancer and was a great person to talk to after he passed. Since Galileo came from her she was very glad to hear what a strong pillar he had been for Sara and I. When Vlad passed Sara and I had a rough time but poor Gali had to sit home alone everyday. Dianne agreed that a new friend might be good for Gali so we brought a new kitten home last Friday.
As anyone introducing a new cat into a household with an old cat could guess, they weren’t immediately the best of friends. Gali was very interested in our new guest but didn’t want him closer than about a meter. Any breaches of Gali’s self proclaimed neutral zone resulted in growling, hissing, and a smacky paw if the kitten didn’t get the message. It took about four days until they would sit this close without Gali growling the entire time. Earlier this evening Sara and I actually caught them sleeping together in the bed in the office and they have been playing non-stop for the last hour. I think Gali may be ready to accept him into the fold.