It’s been two weeks since Pippin’s last emergency trip to the animal hospital so that’s a comforting thought. I still worry about him. He’s still more lethargic than he used to be and he’s not eating as much, but the fact that he hasn’t had to go to the hospital in two weeks is encouraging. Plus, he actually took his steroid pill wrapped in some canned chicken last night so that was awesome. I hope I can continue to trick him in that way so that when Angi, Shari’s sister, watches him while I’m in Oregon in two weeks, she won’t have to shove pills down his throat. I know neither her nor Pippin want that.
With Pippin staying stable, I’ve felt able to do a few more fun things this past week. I finally video chatted with my friend, Edward, since our originally scheduled time was the day I first took Pippin in. I’ll get to hopefully see Edward twice this year as he plans on being in Boulder this October and I plan on visiting him in Oklahoma this November. Let’s hope covid doesn’t mess up either of those plans like it did last year.
I also took Shari and Elisabeth to Blue Sushi this past week and I’m happy to say it was a big hit with them both (look out for a future What I like Wednesday post about the restaurant). I had been hyping it up for probably a year, telling them how fantastic the sushi was, so I think they were hesitant to believe me but they actually agreed that my hype was legit. Elisabeth is already trying to figure out when we can go next! (It’s expensive, so it does take some planning and prep.)
Shari and I had a picnic at a park earlier in the week and yesterday we met up with our friends at Cherry Creek Reservoir for an all day “lake” hang out. We had done the same thing last year and I think we all enjoy it so much that it will become a yearly tradition. Shari, Angi, and I got there at 8:30am to claim a section of sand and a picnic table. We definitely did better than we did last year with our preparedness and food. I think next year will be even better! Shari even got on a paddleboard! She’s not a big water person but she faced her fear and tried something new and totally rocked it. Sadly, the air quality got extremely bad yesterday and while we stuck it out because we liked being around one another and being in the water, it’s definitely affecting my lungs and throat. I’ll be drinking lots of hot water over the next day or two.
This evening my friend, Meseret, picked me up and drove me to Boulder so I could attend the Greenhouse Scholars’ Annual Inspire event with her. Meseret was a Greenhouse Scholar herself when she was in college and as an alumni she was invited to this event that celebrates the scholars and all the people that help run and support the program. We listened to two scholars – one currently in the program and attending school and one an alumni who know owns two businesses of her own – speak and they were both fantastic. I loved getting to know these powerful people and then getting to meet the two scholars who sat at our table. These young people are definitely more self aware and woke than I was at their age. I met a 22 year old who plans on going to Sudan with a non-profit organization so she can help the refugees from Ethiopia and an 18 year old who plans on being an orthopedic surgeon. I had no clue what I wanted to do at 18 (heck, I still don’t know, it’s a life long journey) so I hope that young man knows he is always able to change his mind. That’s the great thing about being human, we are allowed to change our minds, our opinions, and our decisions at any point.
I so enjoyed spending time with Meseret. My time with her is always precious since she lives out of state most of the year. I feel so honored that she would choose me as her plus one to this event. Both she and the students at the event tonight encouraged me to continue to strive to find my place in the world and to try new experiences. So I hope I can pass on a little bit of that light to each of you. It’s never too late to go down a different path, to try a class, to go back to school, to make a change for yourself, to make a change to better someone else’s life. And if there’s anything I can do to help you along your life’s journey, hit me up. 😉 No, seriously.
Here’s to us all having a week that we appreciate and a week in which we can brighten one other person’s life.
Just Lauren 