Relevance

There is someone in my life who is trying to push my buttons. For a little while, I was determining how and when I should respond to the button-pushing. And then circumstances happened that put the whole darned thing into perspective very quickly.

For starters, Stefan and I recently decided to have Perry neutered. This was not an easy decision for either of us, as we believed we wanted all of our dogs to remain intact. No harm, no foul, right? However, as Cubby continues to mature (physically, not mentally), Perry gets all worked up and continues to instigate fights with him. He had even taken to marking inside the house. All that testosterone was making him edgy and a bit aggressive. So, the grapes had to go.

Perry went in for his procedure Wednesday morning, and I picked him up on the way home from work. He was a bit groggy, but otherwise in good shape. He’d had a pain shot (unbeknownst to us), which would wear off after the pain of the surgery went away. They did not give us any pain medication.

We spent Thanksgiving with the family, where Stefan made the Best Turkey Ever. It was so tender and juicy, he couldn’t even lift it out of the broiler without the meat falling off the bones. He didn’t even have to use the electric knife. After we all ate, we settled in to watch a movie. Perry tried to sleep on the sofa next to me, but he kept shaking and seemed very uncomfortable. I began to worry that his surgery was causing him pain. The shaking continued to worsen, and after a few hours, Perry began vomiting. I figured he was in so much pain from the surgery that the pain was making him sick to his stomach. I was cursing the vets under my breath. We’ve not had a great track record with this vet place. They make mistakes quite often, and I assumed they’d forgotten to give me some pain meds for our little guy.

After a sleepless night of worrying about Perry, I rushed him to the vet’s office as soon as it opened. I told them what was going on, and they dismissed my worries about his pain and discomfort being from his surgery, and that this new thing was merely coincidental. They decided to keep him for the day so they could take x-rays and do some blood work. It was extremely difficult to go home empty-handed, to think that something else might be seriously wrong with our little dude.

To keep ourselves occupied, we went to Home Depot, where we picked out new lighting fixtures for the kitchen. Stefan wanted to thank me in his own way for being such a wonderful wife by re-doing the kitchen. He worked for three days and three nights, painting the kitchen (by brush, no less!), and installing a wine rack, a pot rack, and two new counters. He got it done in time for Thanksgiving. Then, as I drove Amy to her friend’s house, he installed the lighting fixtures we’d picked out. He is the Most Wonderful Husband Ever!!

Saturday, we called the vet’s to see if we could bring our little dude home. When the doctor said the words, “partial kidney failure” and “he could still go on to live a long life,” things kind of blurred. Our poor dog was very, very sick, indeed. The doctor, bless his heart, happened to be a flea and tick enthusiast, and believed our Perry had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which, if left untreated, is a quick killer of dogs. It shuts down the kidneys, and the rest is basically history after that. Fortunately, there is a medication that cures the dog and can reverse the kidney failure. We were able to take Perry home Saturday, and we watched him carefully for signs of improvement or failure. I am relieved to say he is acting much more like himself – playing, laughing, smiling, eating, drinking, and generally being the mischief-maker we know him to be. He is also much more attentive and loving towards us, and not nearly as instigative towards Cubby (a result of the neutering, we believe).

As of Friday, I have also been battling a cold. It’s a minor one, thankfully, but has been just annoying enough to take the fun out of things. Stefan has been a real doll putting up with my cranky ass. He put up all the outdoor Christmas decorations by himself. And he has plans for a new kitchen floor. I’m not exactly sure how I got so lucky, but I’m not going to question it!

All of this occurred so quickly, that it put the button-pusher out of my mind completely. After things began to settle down, I thought about it some. And it dawned on me how trivial the whole thing was, in light of everything that had gone on. Someone who is not even close to me is trying to inflame me.

What really matters is what happens to those closest to me. Everything else is just a minor annoyance, not even worth a passing glance.