Pity Party

On this hot, humid, and now rainy Sunday afternoon I've decided to clean up some of our photos. I came across these two from Easter that I had meant to share, but never found the time. This one is Oscar -- my mom's 11-year-old daschund who lives with my sister. He is probably the most annoying dog we've ever had -- whiny, clingy, and never satisfied. The miniature, short-haired daschund was the size of a beanie baby when we first got him and was simply adorable. Then for the next 10 years he was spoiled rotten by my mother. The lap dog was her constant companion and he was treated like royalty. The saddest thing about my mom's passing was watching this little dog cope. During her final days he was utterly distraught and then after her death he simply didn't know what to do with himself. We at least were able to process our grief, but his life had been turned upside down with no way for him to understand what was happening. He's now adjusting to his demotion from "prince" to simply "dog" and he's obviously well cared for by my sister and her family, but sometimes I still feel incredibly sorry for him. This picture was taken at Easter when he took refuge with the stuffed bunnies.

This is a picture of Bob, my niece's best friend and constant companion since she was an infant. Bob is a girl and was named by Abby when she was just learning how to talk. All of her other dolls and Barbies have very feminine, Disney-influenced princess names, but Bob has always been Bob. Even though she's now five -- and a "big girl" -- she is still quite attached to Bob. As you can see, she has had numerous reconstructive surgeries, thanks to my sister's sewing skills, but she is still little more than a rag.