Yes we can

Obama did it. Or rather, we did it. We won.

I didn’t have to go through another disappointing election loss.

Thank you, America.

Now I’m looking forward to seeing what will come. Unfortunately, I think we have a really long way to go, and I feel like Obama is at a huge disadvantage from the get-go. But I have faith that things can change.

What an historic evening it was. I was elated when the election was called for Obama at 11 p.m. I managed to stay awake long enough to hear McCain’s speech (which I thought was very nice, actually), but konked out afterward and woke up to see Obama and his family exiting the stage. Whoops. Missed the speech. But I’ve caught up on most of it today, and it was typical Obama–inspiring. Today is a new day.

And January 20 will be here soon. Let’s do this.

Yes we can.

As for us, we spent election night holed up in our house with our sweet little dog. We donned our Obama gear, made a BBQ chicken pizza, and I baked a loaf of banana bread. We relaxed on the couch, watched a few political SNL skits on the computer, and waited for results to come in.

Today, I am in better spirits. The last few days have been really nothing but despair, but today was better. I only cried once (so far). I still have my moments, of course, and I’m sure there will be many bad days to come. But today? I just felt like I was able to focus more on the joy than on the sorrow. Today, it didn’t physically hurt to smile.

My mom was crying about Tessa the other night and mentioned how it almost feels like it’s not worth it to have pets because you run the risk of so much pain. My dad said something similar, about how he doesn’t want any more dogs because you almost always outlive them, which is always sad. My response (also through tears) was that even though we’re going through this, I do not regret it. I do not regret Tess.

If you don’t experience the pain, it means you haven’t experienced the joy, either.

And there is nothing like the joy.

Tessa is scheduled for surgery on Friday. They are going to remove at least one of her swollen lymph nodes to send it off for pathology. After this, we’ll know more about her cancer. What type of lymphoma, what stage its in, how aggressive it is, etc. The doctors will be able to give us a more accurate prognosis and options for treatment. We’ll just have to see where we go from there.

For now, we’re just focusing on one step at a time, and right now that step is the surgery. We have to drop her off before work in the morning, and then, barring any complications, we can pick her up after work. I’m so glad she doesn’t have to spend the night. It’ll be traumatic enough for her, I’m sure. The plan for the weekend is to pretty much hibernate in the house and help her heal.

So… Can we get through this?

Yes we can.