The unwitting pet mortician

Last week Timmy had the flu and then over the weekend I got it.

I have been miserable and haven't been able to recognize that bleary-eyed person in the mirror that stares back at me. I really look like hell. My eyes have been watery and my nose runs nonstop.

I felt like I became a part of the couch on Monday, because I couldn't get myself off of it. I did rise up once because the dogs were barking. I looked out the window and saw that the cattle were running and kicking up their hoofs in the pasture. At first I thought something must be chasing them, but then I saw that they were just having an early touch of spring fever. They hadn't been moving around much since we had the cold, cold weather. They seemed happy that the temperature outdoors was in the thirties.

Spring seems like it might come early this year with today being Ground Hog Day and next week being Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

I don't usually give something up for Lent; instead I make an effort to do something extra. When my older children were young, I had them write a letter a week during Lent to their grandparents that live in Colorado. Even the youngest child, who couldn't write would dictate a letter and I would write down, word for word, what she said. The grandparents loved the letters and the extra effort the kids put into writing.

I am going to have Timmy do this during Lent, write a letter a week to his grandmas that are both in nursing homes. I will write to them too. Besides keeping in touch with them, it is good practice for Timmy to write letters. One Lent when I had the older kids do this, their grandma and grandpa in Colorado sent each of the kids new Easter outfits.

That was a fun Easter having them all dressed up looking so fine. Last Friday night was my birthday. Tom, my sons, Dan and Timmy met my daughters Bridget, Mary and Mary's husband, Dave, along with my brother Steve and sisters Joann, Kate and her husband, Adrian, for dinner at an Indian restaurant in Minneapolis. The food was great. After the delicious meal, some of us went to Orchestra Hall to see the Chieftains perform.

Kate and her husband had just been to visit their daughter, Keavagh, at college in Winona. They shared this story with us at the restaurant: A friend of Keavagh's from high school lives in Chicago where she attends college.

Keavagh's friend lives in an apartment and she had brought her 150 lb. dog to live with her. A couple of weeks ago her dog died. Keavagh's friend called around on how to dispose of her dog. She contacted a veterinary clinic and they told her that it would cost $350 to dispose of the dog. The girl said she was a student and didn't have that much money. The clinic told her that if she brought the dog to them, they would dispose of the remains for $30. The girl got her largest suitcase and stuffed the dead 150 lb. dog into it. She then carried and dragged the suitcase down the street to the subway. A man saw her struggling and offered to help her carry the bag.

He picked the bag up and asked, "Gee, this is really heavy. What do you have in here?" Keavagh's friend said, "I just broke up with my boyfriend and am moving out. This bag contains all my possessions."

The man helped the girl get the suitcase onto the subway. The girl was standing at the subway door holding the suitcase, and just as the doors of the subway were closing the man reached in and grabbed the suitcase and ran off with it. The girl was stunned, but the man had just saved her $30. She and Keavagh and the rest of us wondered what the man must have thought when he opened up the suitcase and found a dead 150 lb. dog.