Menopausal Mother

Welcome to another edition of  Fly On The Wall group blog postings hosted by Karen of Baking In A Tornado. Today, three of us are opening our homes to give you a glimpse of what goes on behind closed doors. 

While the past month has been tremendous fun, it did have its difficult moments. We had to say goodbye to another one of our pugs---an unexpected ending that felt like a terrible gut punch. Brewski was just shy of his 13th birthday and the first pug pup we ever adopted. He started having gall bladder issues and before we knew it, he was at the emergency vet clinic, diagnosed with cancerous tumors on his liver. The prognosis was not good and the poor baby was in pain, so we had to make that devastating decision once again to let him go (only 1 1/2 years after losing our sweet Savi). The grief is still fresh but I'm trying to keep busy and focus on the good stuff.  We have one pug baby left---Yoda, who is seven, but I don't see any more dogs in my future after going through so much pet loss trauma.

We've also been spending more time with friends to stay busy and avoid feeling sad about Brewski. We are incredibly blessed to have such wonderful, caring people in our lives.

On a lighter note, one of the highlights of this past month was our weekends at the Renaissance Festival.  We didn't attend as much this year (wasn't up for it after losing Brewski), especially since I noticed a BIG shift in the crowds. Like.....now Mac and I are the old farts there watching all the "youngsters" getting wild and crazy. Damn, that used to be us....WHAT HAPPENED?? Still had fun though with the family and of course, met some interesting characters......

However, the best part of the month is spending time with my grandbabies. They are growing up TOO fast---12, 5, almost 3, and a 4-month-old baby. PLEASE STOP THE CLOCKS! I truly hope I live to a ripe, old age because I need to see what these kids will be doing in 20 years. 

And of course, there was our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration with the family and the neighbors. I made the traditional corn beef, carrot, cabbage, and potatoes in memory of my mother, who always spent the holiday with us. Not only did we wear green, but also served green beer and green champagne to our guests! Yeah, I'm weird with my enthusiasm for ANY  holiday.....

The next day we hopped on our tandem bike to burn off the green calories. Why do people laugh at us when they see us pedal around the neighborhood???

Lastly, I've been busy planning several RV trips this year since we finally have our "Lucy." I feel like this is the beginning of a new chapter for us, and I'm pretty excited! I finished decorating Lucy so she is ready to roll! But I don't know if the Florida Highways are ready for The Doyle mobile. A friend actually gave me a sign for our RV that reads, "If this RV is rockin', don't come knockin'!" Would the Doyles have it any other way??

***Want more Meno Mama? Check out my latest grandparenting advice column for Yahoo Life HERE and my recent essay on AARP/The Ethel about the 2 words that help me through life (you can read it HERE). If you like movies that feature the power of female friendships, I have an article about it on AARP/The Girlfriend ( you can read it HERE) and one on easy 4-ingredient meals HERE.

Be sure to visit the sites of the other bloggers participating in this month's Fly On The Wall post. They always have something fun going on!

 

Baking In A Tornado                                https://www.BakingInATornado.com

On the Border                                         https://dlt-lifeontheranch.blogspot.com/