They give me cat scratch fever. . ..

October 4, 2011


Today, finally, after almost a week of being home Em is returning to school.

Most reluctantly.

If she could swing it, she'd squeeze another day at home, under the guise of caring for Reilley.

But Reilley is fine as long as he is left in peace.

And Em has close to a week's worth of school to catch up on.

Now, given the education system in this province, that may not be as much as you'd think, but the bottom line is she's behind.

In addition, it's Safe Schools Week.

For Em, even more dreaded than exams.

Jumping out of buses, evacuations, Red Alerts.

At the end of the day more about fear mongering, fearing terrorists attacks on the school, bomb scares, etc.

Creating a more-than-anxious-even-though-she-is-already-anxious-Emily

Week nights of working through the traumas, hearing about how much she hates this week and perhaps celebrating the knowledge that this will, indeed, be her last foray into Safe Schools Week.

Plus, even more than the trauma of Safe Schools Week, she just really needs to return to the real world.

Whether she wants to or not.

But because I really need her to.

Really, really.









Reilley.

Survived his trip to the vet without too much long term suffering, agony, strain, anguish or stress.

At least for him.

Em on the other hand was more than a little distressed.

Reilley was suffering from an infected wound.

A wound created by Jasper or Dibley.

Jasper because he wanted to play.

Dibley because he was trying to assert his dominance.

It wasn't a big wound. . .more just a scratch. Well, a deep scratch.

We didn't even know there was a scratch until the vet cut away the fur covering the scratch and the wound started to ooze.

Em was not impressed.

She turned about as green as the ooze.

The pain was a result of the scratch being located on his paw in an area with little skin, just more bone.

The resulting infection caused swelling, which caused stretching of the skin, the locus of the pain.

At least it wasn't something related to his joints or muscles.

He'll spend his next couple of days resting and relaxing in Em's room, food, water, litter box all within his immediate vicinity.

Radio playing for him while Em is away at school.

No other cats or dogs allowed in her room for the duration of time it takes him to heal.

Ten days worth of antibiotics should do the trick.

Emotional scarring. . .that may take a little longer.

For Reilley and Emily.









Most of yesterday was spent working on my latest journal article project.

Which is turning out, as usual, to be more than I anticipated.

But not bad more, just more.

While writing, I was listening to episodes of, of course, Big Bang Theory.

I can't work in silence.

I can work at Starbucks or the library because neither of them are silent.

But there are benefits to working at home.

Because how I respond to writing and watching Big Bang Theory would certainly get me kicked out of the library, and in all probability, Starbucks.

As it is, Stephen shuts the bedroom door and puts the fan on for white noise.

As Big Bang Theory results in laughing, laughing, laughing until my right side protested by sending sharp pains throughout my body because I did, indeed, continue to laugh.

Who couldn't.

In a moment of sharing, I posted some of my Sheldon lines as my facebook status.

One of my colleagues thinks I've developed an alter ego.

Why not?

He's funny and has an IQ of 187.

Who wouldn't want such an alter ego?




Title Lyric: Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent