Battle of the Old Ladies...

And who ARE the old ladies, you ask? Well, that would be my female cat, Ashley, who is 15...and me!

It is funny how you plan your day and it turns out differently than you expected...

Yesterday, after spending hours working on the living room Christmas tree, I bought some groceries and was ready to relax a little before Eric came home. I had just sat down at the computer, when Ashley, next to me on the little 3-foot kitty pedestal, started kicking around and acting weird. I thought she had snagged her claw and was panicking. Then she fell off the pedestal and was still kicking around. Then I realized...she was having a huge seizure. It seemed endless, but probably lasted a minute. I felt very helpless and she just kept looking at me. When it was over, she was dazed and breathing heavily. Poor kitty!

I called our vet, who is wonderful, and she took us as soon as we got to the animal clinic. There were no obvious reasons why this happened, except Ashley's age. She wants to do a whole panel of blood tests, which are pri--cey! Upon hearing other people's experiences with their cats and seizures, I think the best thing to do is wait and monitor her for a few days. I don't want to make a rash decision and don't want her to suffer either. I'll just keep an eye on her for a while. Today she's her old self.

Well, MY old 40-year old self was walking up the steps to a friend's house this morning for a nice get-together, when my legs went flying out from under me as they hit the slippery wooden deck. You know how things go in slow motion at the same time as they're going fast? That is what this fall was like. Then I landed nice and hard on my right bum cheek, my purse and keys flying in different directions, and my white sweater and grey sweats getting coated with a line of muddy yuckiosity. My friend apologized profusely and put down a rug for future guests, all of whom made it inside unscathed. The hot chocolate, homemade cinnamon rolls, and lovely company were great buffers for what happened.

The stains have almost all come out, but I did have a headache for most of the day and have been generally achy all over. Mostly it was my pride that got bruised.

No matter how much I convince myself that youth is a state of mind, my body reminded me differently today. And I have a sudden urge to sing a verse of "The ol' grey mare just ain't what she used to be..."