...the road goes on forever

Celtic & Mom

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About 7, 8 years ago, our friend Tammy Looney posted that a friend of hers had a dog for adoption. We contacted her friend Kim Ward, and after some pretty extensive questioning, she agreed we could take Celtic the Boston Terrier home.

We got him ostensibly as a pet for our granddaughter Ava, who lived with us with her mother until 2 years ago when they moved to an apartment.

He’s still officially Ava’s dog (and she visits us a couple of times a week) but Celtic actually picked my wife Gini Parsons as his “true owner”.

Gini’s mom hated “that dog”, as she put it when she moved in with us, often trying to force him outside (he’s an inside dog). Little by little she warmed up to him, eventually calling him “our dog” then graduating to “my dog” (I don’t think she ever calls him by name).

Tonight, she took him away from Gini to hold him on her lap, and then almost angrily stated “This dog has been mine since I was a little girl” (she’s 81). When I pointed out that I don’t think Bostons live that long, she proudly announced “this one has”, then went into deep details about the day her parents brought him home for her.

We let her pet him and tell her stories…


My Mother-in-Law Betty

Betty Hartnett is Gini’s mother. She came to live with us on August 16 2015, and on February 1, 2019 she moved 3 miles away to a nursing home. She passed away on July 5, 2019.

She came to live with us because she was suffering the the effects of Alzheimer’s, and could no longer care for herself. When she first came to live with us, she was still very much aware of her surroundings, but as the disease progressed, her memory faded. She lived with us until the disease progressed to the point that she needed 24 hour care, which we simply were not able to give.

I’ve written about her here from time to time. You’ve heard the term “bitter-sweet”, I consider these things “funny-sad” in that you have to find what humor you can in such a sad sad situation.

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