Resurfacing

Wow! I can hardly believe how much time has passed since I last posted on my blog. It was right after Mother's Day, and here it is almost Father's Day.

Well, I can give you a whole bunch of reasons for my silence but the real reason is that I have been trying to deal with some changes in my life. I am never a big fan of change anyway, but the things that have been happening have had me a little out of sorts.

As you know, I am getting up there in age, and I have been aware of some subtle changes with my body, but in the last few weeks and months it seems that instead of these changes creeping up on me, they have been executing a full on assault! So, suddenly I gone from missing the odd sound to missing all but the loudest sounds. The vet had mentioned something about cataracts on my eyes, but until recently I didn't really buy it - now I have to acknowledge that I am loosing my sight too!

All of this has been a tremendous struggle for me to accept and so as I have been trying to deal with this new found vulnerability. One of the most difficult things for me to handle is needing help from my human. I feel like the roles have been reversed and she is now my protector. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

My human has really been trying to make me feel better. She has pointed out some benefits to being deaf. We have been having lots of thunderstorms lately and I, of course, can't hear the storms, so I can sleep through the whole thing. Recently, when we were walking, we met two adorable little girls who wanted to pet me. As they were really close, I could see that they were talking in the really high pitched manner that excited little girls have - and once again, this didn't bother me, and I could stand there and soak up the attention.

The human even bought me a really cool Chinese jacket on one of her trips (I think Chicago)- its not quite the smoking jacket I wanted but its close and its really cool! Watch for photos!

So, my friends, this has been a challenging time for me, but I think its something we get to face if we are lucky enough to live a long life. And as I slowly learn to accept my frailties, I will remind myself of all the good things in my life - things like friends, and families, and FATHERS!

Happy Father's Day!
Clifford George Jackson