New Bloggy Update 10/6/25

For two weeks, Charlie and I were fortunate enough to spend some time in Norway and Denmark. It was a trip like no other – the sights, the sounds, the environment, the food….everything was incredible and so different than what we live everyday in Illinois. If you follow me on Facebook, surely you’ve seen the multitudes of pictures we’ve shared along the way.

We get home on September 29th, late. Biscuit and Monkey were happy to see us. A huge pile of mail awaits on our kitchen table. I start over two weeks of laundry almost as soon as we unzip our first piece of luggage.

We had been alerted to Biscuit acting a little standoffish over the past few days, so we monitor him that night and into the next day. By mid-day, we decide that something is very off and take him to the vet. He’s days shy of being 15 months old.

Feline Leukemia. And there’s nothing to be done.

We weren’t home 48 hours before being forced into making a nightmare decision (Charlie brought Monkey in the same day to get her checked. In utter shock from the vet, Monkey tested negative). We leave the vet’s office with one kitty instead of two.

And over the course of the next 36 hours, I am contracted to attend a two-day event in Bartlett, Illinois, so we re-pack a suitcase, load up the car, and head north. While we are setting up the table, I get a message from our lawyer (in Texas). I am STILL dealing with my brother’s estate from his passing this February. She says that it’s very likely that I’ll have to go BACK to Texas for court dates/establishing heirship (yes…still…).

From the top of the world to the lowest layer of sludge and mire. Our tears aren’t even dry yet, but a brave and cheerful face is required, for who in the world wants to buy a book from someone who looks devastated and heartbroken?

I used to believe that having too much fun is a dangerous precedent – that there’s always the proverbial shoe waiting to drop and bring everything to a screeching halt. This year has proven to me that sometimes, this belief is an accurate portrayal of the world. I wish I didn’t feel this way, but at this moment, as vulnerable as it might sound, it feels too close to home.

Hug your family, your pets, your friends, and yes, even yourself, a little tighter today.