It's been almost a month since I posted anything here, and honestly, that's not like me. So I wanted to come back and just talk. Not a polished post about a topic, just an actual update on where things stand, because a lot has happened since I went quiet.
Losing Adah
If you've been following along, you already know I lost Adah on June 6th to GI lymphoma, something that got missed early on before we knew what we were actually dealing with. I wrote the full story here if you want the whole thing, so I won't retell it all again. But I'll say this. It still hurts just as much as it did that first week. Some days, it feels like a bad dream I haven't woken up from yet, like she's just going to come around the corner.
I got a small memorial for her that I've got set up now, a little wooden heart that says "No longer by my side, but forever in my heart," hanging above a little glass jar with her collar tucked inside, right next to her picture. It's a small thing, but it helps having a spot for her.
Sugar Is Slowing Down
As if that wasn't enough, about a month after Adah, I started noticing my guinea pig, Sugar, wasn't herself. She's almost 6 years old, which is old for a guinea pig, and she lost her cage mate, Cinnamon, back in October last year. Lately, she's been hiding more, eating less, and not as into her veggies as she used to be (and she was a huge veggie eater).
There's no local vet who sees guinea pigs anymore, and my husband can't get away from his store (he's the manager) for the kind of drive it would take to find one who does. So we're doing comfort care at home. Soft food, keeping her warm, and not stressing her out with things she doesn't need. It's the same thing we did for Cinnamon, and it feels right for her, even if it's hard to sit with.
Ollie and Micah, Brothers Now
On a lighter note, Ollie, the stray tabby who wandered into our lives last fall, has basically become part of the family at this point (transitioning to an indoor/outdoor cat). He and Micah wrestle constantly, and it's honestly the cutest thing to watch. Ollie has also decided my work chair is his now, so I've learned to check before I sit back down during the day. They're close in a way I didn't expect this fast, and I'm just grateful Micah has a buddy so he's not on his own all the time. Watching them curl up together after a wrestling match gets me every time.
For anyone wondering how Ollie ended up here, since I know I've mentioned Peter and Noro before. Peter has always had his own home; that part isn't new. He just has a family that doesn't really look after him the way they should, which I've talked about before. He still comes around to visit almost daily. For a while, we thought Ollie might belong to Peter's family too, but the way they've completely ignored him made it pretty clear that wasn't the case. We think Ollie was abandoned or ran off from somewhere else, ended up near Peter's for a bit, drifted toward Noro's next door (another stray cat that comes around daily), and then just kept showing up here more and more until here is where he stayed.
Right now, I'm focused on getting him proper vet care since we still don't know his full history and on a flea situation that's been more stubborn than I expected. I've reached out to a handful of vets around town, and I'm waiting to hear back from most of them. We also picked up a two-story insulated outdoor house for him for when he's out and about and needs shelter, though it's still sitting here waiting to be assembled. One of these days.
The Rest of the House
Lucy and Ricky, my rabbits, are doing exactly what rabbits do, which is nothing dramatic, thankfully. I'll take boring from them right now. And Micah has been a comfort through all of this, honestly, still his sweet, playful self even with everything going on around him (look at him; he's such a big boy now!). By the way, on July 5th, we celebrated him being with us for one whole year. Time flies!
Progress I'm Actually Proud Of
Health-wise, this has been a genuinely good stretch, even with everything else going on. I'm down about 20 pounds now. My weight has plateaued a bit over the last few weeks, but I'm honestly okay with that as long as I'm not gaining. My body scan scale keeps showing fat loss and muscle gain happening at the same time, which is probably exactly why the number itself isn't moving much. I'm letting it slide for a bit. Right now, I'm just chilling and healing, still doing my workouts daily, low-carb, low-sodium, and intermittent fasting. My husband recently got his own Planet Fitness membership too, so we've started going together sometimes, which has been nice for both of us.
Small Good Things
I also picked up Coral Island last week since it was on sale for eighteen dollars. I've wanted that game for about a year now and finally just went for it. It's been a nice place to put my brain for an hour at the end of the day when I don't want to think about much of anything. Sometimes that's exactly what you need.
That's where things stand. Heavier than I wanted this post to be, honestly, but that's where I am, and I'd rather be honest here than pretend everything's fine when it isn't. Thanks for sticking around while I figure out what comes next.
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