Merry Sydney Ursula Wall Has Left The Building…4/15/1998 – 9/14/2012

Sydney chillin' on the deck.
Sydney chillin’ on the deck

When I went to add a second Scottie girl to our family, I went back to the local breeder who gave us Big Macalester. There was six pups in the litter, 4 girls. I had already picked out a name, Sydney, and so I was looking for the pup that would be Sydney. I had never met the pups before.

I picked up the first pup, and in my mind asked, “Are you a Sydney?”, not really expecting a response. There was no response. I picked up the second girlie, and asked the same question in my mind, and also got no response. I picked up the third girlie, and before I could ask the question, she looked at me and said with her eyes, “Hi! My name is Sydney”. That took me back a bit, so I put her to one side, to keep an eye on her. I picked up the fourth girlie, and got no response to the question.

The third pup was the one. When she played with her brothers and sisters, there was nothing special about her, other than the strong Bardene ring around her tail. But she told me she was the Sydney I was looking for.

A classic naughty child, Sydney was into everything as a pup, and really never reformed herself. If something could be ripped up, chewed on, pooped under or in when she was displeased, it was done. I believe that in the Book of Doggie Psychiatry, next to the entry on revenge pooping, there’s a picture of the Squid in a squat.

She was a minor character in the early adventures of the Scotcorde flights, a member of a young group of pups (which included Katie Wild Child) that raised hell and disrespected the elders, especially Nurse Macalester and Tess.

Other than getting into trouble, Sydney’s next favorite thing to do was to do nothing. She was the Queen of Lazy. If she could get another dog to do her bidding, all the better. Why bark at squirrels and bunnies, when Laddie could do it? Why roll over for a belly rub when she could just lift an arm to make you reach under her for a scratch. Instead of walking around her brothers, she would fuss and bark at them to get them to move, so she could walk in a straight path to her destination.

All is forgiven now, especially if Sarah give Sydney chest scratches.
All is forgiven now, especially if Sarah give Sydney chest scratches.

I got Sydney during the time when it looked like I would never have a human child in my life, either by birth or adoption. It was a hard and lonely time for me. I don’t know if she knew that or not, but she was determined to be the baby I didn’t have. She wanted to be held like you’d hold a human baby, and needed to be the center of the universe.

When we were able to successfully adopt, and brought home Sarah, Sydney was upset that she had to share my lap. I have pictures of Sydney and Sarah on my lap, with Sydney placing a back leg over the top of Sarah, in a passive-aggressive demonstration of The Paw of Dominance. Only in the last three years, since Macalester T’s arrival, has Sydney forgiven Sarah for taking up space in her home.

When Rachel came home, Sydney took a liking to her, although unlike Sarah, Rachel never dropped food from her tray. Maybe Sydney was always hopeful Rachel would reform her ways. Rachel had a rocky start in our family, but
Sydney was always there when Rachel was upset and struggling. Rachel responded very well to the dogs and especially Sydney. I believe she helped Rachel’s transition and gave Rachel something to love and trust while she was figuring out if the rest of us could be loved and trusted.

The only reason Sydney isn't in my lap, is because I just ran from the camera to sit down before the timer went off.
The only reason Sydney isn’t in my lap, is because I just ran from the camera to sit down before the timer went off.

Sydney loved, loved, loved me. Her world revolved around me. She would seek me out, or if she couldn’t find me, caterwaul at the top of her lungs until I responded and made my presence known – or go to where she was to fetch her. She answered many of my questions about life, my career, and the capabilities of my students with a blank stare and a tilt of the head that silently said all that needed to be said. She’d live under my computer desk, and if I spent too much time there (to her liking) would pee or poop (or do both if my sin was especially severe) under the same desk.

A few years ago, Sydney told me that she was going to outlive me. That made me nervous. I didn’t know if that meant I would die before her or what. When Sydney died, she was 14 years, 4 months, and 29 days old. So
in dog years, that translates to about 100 years 10 months and 20 days. I know my goal now, if I want to outlive Sydney. It’s on, Squid Marie!

I will miss her naughtiness and Scottitude every day for the rest of my life. She was my baby, and I was her world.

Too Much Lying About

I finally rolled myself out of bed this morning, then went to the computer to read some scrapping blogs I subscribe to. I was jealous of the time these ladies have to be creative. Not all of them are SAHMs — a couple of them are teachers and travel alot on the weekends. So I know they are at least as busy as I am.
I think I’ve figured out the difference is that they don’t watch TV or lie about as I have been lately. You’d think that working part-time, and having most of my therapy appointments completed would mean I have time to relax and do some fun stuff. Even though I’ve been sleeping alot, post-stroke, I’m up more and more.
The problem is the TV. I’ve become addicted to watching old TV shows that I DVR during the day.
The kids are just as bad, we all lie about, watching TV instead of doing something constructive. Some times that TV watching is watching The Weather Channel — even when our weather is good.
I’ve got to stop that now. I have the summer off from teaching, so I should be making good use of my unstructured time. Lord, help me.

Scottie Shenanigans

After a long morning nap, I came downstairs for a bite to eat. Sydney and
Macalester were running loose in the kitchen, but Laddie was locked in the
dog house. Since I was heading back upstairs for a short afternoon nap, I
left Laddie in the dog house, figuring there must be a reason why the DH
left him in there.

DH comes home midafternoon to find Sydney and Macalester running loose in
the kitchen with Laddie locked in the doghouse. He had left all the dogs
loose in the kitchen when he had left in the morning. He decided I must
have had a reason to lock Laddie in the dog house, so he left him there
with the other two loose in kitchen.

When I woke up a couple hours later, Sydney and Macalester were running
loose in the kitchen, but Laddie was still locked in the dog house. I
can’t take the dogs outside until I get my balance under control, so I call
down to DH to take the dogs out for a pee.

DH comes upstairs, and asks me why I locked Laddie in the doghouse. I told
him I thought he had locked Laddie in, so I had left him in. DH told me
all three dogs had been loose when he left in the morning.

I look over at Sydney and Macalester, and they are looking very pleased
with themselves. Best we can figure the Big Sister and Littlest Brother
ganged up on the Middle Child and pushed the dog house door shut with
Laddie inside. The door doesn’t easily latch, so it had to be a team effort
to get the door closed and latched.

I have two very naughty and clever pups. Poor Laddie, he’s outnumbered.

Busy Much?

I was working on an ATC for my PSL Team’s swap. The theme was that the card needed to represent who you are.

So I digitally designed a card with the most important elements in my life. Then I printed it out.

busy much?

It’s so busy, when I look at it in printed form. But then I thought, that’s who I am: busy. Not as busy as I was pre-stroke, but still pretty busy.

So, if you were to make an ATC, that represented who you are, what would you put on the card? Let me know in the comments.