and his name was Yeti.

On Friday, April 18th, Yeti left us. He was 8. He had been getting creaky all winter, had an increasingly difficult time standing up, but started a real nosedive this week. He whimpered off and on on Tuesday. Wednesday, when I got home from taking Paul and the boys to the airport he barely lifted his head, and didn’t get up when I arrived….very unusual. On Thursday, I called Paul and the boys (in California collecting mom’s car to drive it cross-country to Maine while I’m teaching in Paducah), worried about Yeti. At 2:36 a.m. Friday, I came downstairs to Yeti whimpering again, asked if he wanted to go out. He didn’t, but was panting horribly. Since he didn’t seem able to get up I brought the water bowl to him, and he could barely lift his head enough to get water from the bowl, which he eventually drained.

Here’s Yeti snoozing by the fire this past winter, with his buddy Pigwidgeon:

On Friday morning, it took over half an hour to get him on his feet; I immediately took him out, but he wobbled like a drunk he was so unsteady. I knew he needed to see the vet, so rather than take him back up a couple of steps into the house, I tethered him outside near the back of my car. Since he is (was) 150 pounds-plus, I tried but failed to hoist him into the car. I called the Camden police (station is about a mile from my house) and asked, saying I thought my dog was dying but I couldn’t lift him into the car alone, if an officer wasn’t busy could they possibly come help me (nieghbors are either old or have a bad shoulder). Officer A. Smith did, and while I was waiting for him to arrive, I noticed two very small spots of blood on Yeti’s extremely furry leg. Under them was a large, hard growth and the skin wasn’t pale, but florid red and nearly black. Hmmmm….not good. And thanks and blessings (once again) to the Camden police. (Reminder to self: write thank you note today!)

I got to the vet’s and said I was worried this might be the last day of his life, and the nice vet said gently “it should be.” Sob. Turns out the growth was a tumor…. larger than my fist. And the discolored drool was bloody (internal bleeding of some sort). Worse. She figured it was probably a malignant tumor that had metastasized. It was about 6 am in San Francisco, Paul’s cell wasn’t turned on, and I didn’t recall which hotel. I dashed home for the number and returned to the vets to hold the cell phone to Yeti’s ear so Paul and the boys could say goodbye. Sob some more.

When we first got ‘Widgeon, Yeti was so patient, letting the little guy play

and harrass him,

and even sleep on him:

So Yeti, the dear dope, is gone. He doesn’t hurt any more, and I was able to stroke his head and muzzle as he died. And he knows we love him. Sob.

One of Yeti’s favorite things here in Maine was to romp in the snow, and bury his face in the snowdrifts, eating bites of fresh snow.  Just last week, he was still trying to nibble snow… despite the fact the remaining bits were hard, crusty, covered with road sand.  Here he is a couple of winters ago, happy as a clam while I shoveled and the boys played:

Yeti may have sometimes been (said affectionately) a large, hairy, loud-barking misery, but he was ours, he was sweet, and we loved him and will miss him. He’ll be cremated, and we’ll bury his ashes or some day take them back to the island where he romped and scatter them there. It’s weird not hearing him plod about the house, his claws clicking on the floors, or his enormous booming bark. Bye-bye, Yeti-Yeti Dum-Dum.  Sniffle.  Going for more kleenex.

Eli competed in a tournament for the first time in Isshinriyu karate, an Okinawan style. He had a fun time visiting with the kids from the Tae Kwon Do school (where he started his martial arts training). He performed his kata (routine) very well … the second time. Alas, when he was almost done, he blanked out and got lost in the routine, so asked to start over. He did, and performed very well. If he had not had the mandatory deduction for starting over, he would have placed first or second! Here is the opening part of his kata:

The main judge came to me afterwards and said Eli had done very well despite having to re-start. She said that most kids who forget, just totally blow it on the second attempt, and Eli had done even better on the second try than the first. I think that is awesome… that he had the guts to say I forgot, start over, and then do it BETTER. Good on Eli! Here’s another photo from the end of the kata:

In fighting, he survived three rounds with other kids, despite the fact that he hasn’t sparred with kids in over a year.

He does practice with the adults in the Isshinriyu dojo, though, and is quite good. Still, I think he would benefit from being around kids more. Eli learns more of the martial arts in the dojo, and because he is so intense and focused, this is a good thing for him. But being able to goof around with kids is good, too! And being fit and strong is best of all!

This may qualify as a not so small miracle: we hit our 25th wedding anniversary, we are both alive, and neither of us is in jail for homicide! I had absolutely NO idea what to get for Paul: he doesn’t have many hobbies, it is impossible to know what he has read or hasn’t, etc. Kristina, Joshua’s girlfriend, had the best idea of all: a night away with a nice dinner. However, what to do with the kids? Since we’ve had one night alone (which happened at the last minute as both kids had sleepovers the same night) in 14 1/2 years, the likelihood of being able to swing this again was miniscule. So, I opted for dinner. I made reservations at a really nice restaurant in town, and mentioned that it was our 25th, and we hadn’t been out alone to dinner together in 9+ years (no nearby relatives or babysitters, which cost a fortune). Look what the owner did:

He changes the menu daily, so prints up menus every day. He made special ones just for us!

I had the Jerusalem Artichoke soup, and could have been happy with a vat of that and french bread! Paul had the salad minus the crab (he’s allergic), and we both had the scallops. OH MY. Good food is GOOD! And the drink of the day was a passion fruit Mai Tai with sour cherries. Paul ordered one while I decided — so I had a sip of his and ordered one too instead of wine! Good thing I didn’t have to stand up soon LOL!

Anyway, I asked a friend of Eli’s parents if they could field Eli for the evening; Joshua went to Kristina’s (we made sure an adult would be there… they are at the age of needing chaperones LOL…EEEK!), and I alerted Coach Cassidy that it was our 25th and Paul would need to bug out early to shower for dinner. Imagine, a mid-week dinner, in a restaurant, with NO kids!

Paul suprised me with an iPod Classic! Alas, and uncharacteristically, Apple goofed (it is a website glitch it appears) and the engraving on the back…. Sarah Ann Smith Happy 25th Anniversary …. didn’t happen, so we returned the one I got and they are sending out an engraved replacement post haste. After Paul got off the phone with support he said, Gee, they are nice and easy to work with. Yeah… Apple does do customer service right! So it will be here soon, and I will set up my computer with three libraries: one each for me, Joshua and Eli. And I plan on adding my quilts and some podcasts to mine, too! WOOT!

It has been a snowy season, with many cancelled meets, but the end has arrived. I’ve got pictures of the regionals (held last weekend), but not the state meet (yesterday) since I was at the karate tournament with Eli. Joshua placed fourth in his weight class in the Eastern half of Maine, despite lackluster performance on the mat (which he acknowledges). But all in all, Joshua did phenomenally well (especially considering he got hit by a car last July), and the Camden team did outstandingly well, too. Here’s one moment early in one of Joshua’s matches:

Still, Joshua did well enough that he was able to compete in States! Although he didn’t place there, the mere fact that 8 months ago he was in the hospital receiving his second transfusion after the accident and still on morphine makes it amazing that he has recovered so well! And just six months ago, he had recently given up using crutches and limped even when walking slowly!!!! Like the other 8th graders on the team (most of the team!), he plans on wrestling next year at the highly competitive high school level.

We had a priceless moment early on…. Codi is Joshua’s best friend; this year, his family moved to the neighborning town, so he’s on the HAL (Hope-Appleton-Lincolnville) team. Codi’s younger brother (a year younger) is a great fan of Joshua’s, and he brought this sign… WE LOVED IT!!!!!! CRMS is the Camden-Rockport Middle School, 135 is Joshua’s weight class, and JoshWah is how Joshua signs his name sometimes on his MySpace, with an umlaut over the “o” and “W”….

Here are the boys “waiting” (as boys will–mucking around) for the awards ceremony; that’s Paul in the red sweatshirt on the far right toting a goatskin leather bag he has had since Peace Corps in Niger in the early 70s:

And the individual awards… Joshua receives a 4th place finish:

And the boys in his weight class…. the winner receives the flow chart of matches showing the 1st place win:

Joshua’s best friend Codi, on the HAL team this year, came in second in his weight class and at states came in 4th in the state! WAY TO GO CODI!

Then…..the team results. Belfast, whose team is a combination of three middle schools in/near Belfast, won. Camden-Rockport came in SECOND in the region! WOOOHOOO! Here the boys are hoisting their trophy to the happiness of one and all:

Joshua’s girlfriend Kristina came up to regionals with Eli and me. She doesn’t like getting her picture taken, so I snuck this one with the zoom:

I also got one with her face, but the second shot, when she realized I was taking pictures is so much more typical and kinda funny that I’m posting that one instead:

And here’s Joshua with his one-man cheering squad, Nick, brother and best friend Codi, Kristina, and Codi’s mom (white shirt) and step dad John (walking towards the group upper left):

All in all it was a wonderful season. The boys on the CRMS and HAL teams got to practice together this past week; they’ll all be on the same high school team next year and were cheering each other on at the meet (as long as the opponent wasn’t someone on their own team!). It’s a wonderful thing…. the five towns are all kind of “Us”. It’s good to be from a small town, and it’s good to live in Maine. As the saying goes, Maine is “the way life ought to be!”

Egads how time flies. Now, why doesn’t the fat fly away with it? She said, grumbling a bit about still wearing the extra weight munched on during my first trimester with him…..

We are, of course, so proud of our wonderful boys. Eli had a grand 10th birthday at home, even though it was immediately after Mom and I came in from California! It was further complicated by the fact that Joshua had a wrestling meet after school that day, so time was short. But when we finally got home around 8, it was cake time:

And old age is creeping up on him… ten whole candles challenged him LOL!

And presents. … Eli wanted two things: an iPod (the iPod Shuffle from his generous Aunt Joyce died after Eli left it in his pocket and Paul did the laundry; electronics and water don’t play nicely together) and ski stuff. All Camden 4th graders get 3 free ski lessons from the local Snow Bowl (clever folks they are). Of course, now Eli, the kid who hasn’t met a sport he doesn’t want to try, wants ski equipment and a season pass for next year. So…. with generous gifts from Aunt Joyce and Nana, he is on his way to a decent set of used skis, boots and poles (we’ll be at the ski swap meet next November!).

And here, from Mom and Dad:

And there was one more thing….. Paul had asked me what I thought of this idea, and I said in about two years, maybe at Christmas… so of course while I was in California, Paul placed the order!

What’s this you ask?

A cell phone for Eli. Fortunately, we have a family plan, so the phone is free and a modest monthly charge in addition–we share 400 minutes a month which is enough for all of us:

It will be useful next winter–we can drop Eli off at the Snow Bowl, then when he’s ready to come home he can call (or heaven forfend, if he falls on the slope and needs help). Still… a phone for a ten year old? Remember when we were kids and there was ONE phone for the entire family? And my Aunt Katie, in the boonies of Wyoming, was still on a party line?