22 December 2006

I'm Sooooooo Jealous of Denver

Photo lifted from the NY Times online


So what the hell did Denver do to get so lucky? I want a white Christmas, too, damn it!

The New Clinic

I brought my camera to work with me so I could share with y'all. This is the lobby (which I mostly avoid, as we often get people who resent it when you actually deal with the people whose pet is dying before you see their pet's cracked nail):

122206AEC_Lobby

And this is where I spend most of my time:

122206AEC_Tx_room

To give you some idea of scale, this main treatment area has somewhere around 1250 square feet of space (give or take). For those of you who think in metric, that's around 116 square meters, or roughly the size of a small house. Actually, my first house only had about 1050 square feet, so let's say modest-sized ranch. And this is only a fraction of our total space.

Happy Christmahannukwanzasolstica!

I'm not sure if I'll actually have a chance to write anything or have anything to say between now and the new year. Actually, I probably will, but Hannukah will be over before then and the solstice is now, so I figured I'd hit 'em all now.

Because of my busy work schedule this week, which includes working Christmas night, David and I are going to have our little Christmas for two Friday night and then drive up to spend Christmas Eve day with my family after I get off work. I am also hoping that we'll get to meet up with a certain short, bald dude while he's in this neck of the woods, but between my work schedule and our travel plans, I'm not sure if it will pan out.

And speaking of things panning out, we're still a little up in the air about the whole side trip to South Dakota thing. His mother sent a big box of presents for David and his cats - my name conspicuous by its absence. So he has asked her in an e-mail - in a direct but polite way - to be more thoughtful of me and reiterated that I am an important part of his life that shouldn't be ignored. Her response will, I think, be the main determining factor in deciding whether that visit will happen or not. She is, I have learned, a master of the passive-aggressive arts, so my expectations are not particularly high.

Being the central figure in this ongoing family dispute, it is hard for me to stay completely out of it. I do make an effort, however, because I don't think that it would be particularly fruitful for me to engage his mother directly at this time. Also, I have no particular emotional investment in a relationship with his parents - or anyone else in his family, for that matter. I would prefer to have some sort of relationship there (particularly with his father, who really seems a decent guy but not in control of the situation), but only if it includes acceptance on their part. Approval would be nice, too, but even that isn't necessary as long as they play nice. And if they can't play nice, well, my family loves David and we have friends who give us both love and approval, so there's no real reason for us to put up with dysfunction.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

My Christmas wish for you is that David's parents will realize that you make their son happy and for that they will accept you into their lives. If they don't, they are the losers, not you and David.

Merry Christmas!

Barbara said...

What a gorgeous facility. I've been in the back part of my vet's clinic many times, helping him with mastiff c-sections (many hands for the puppies) or holding a loved one as they are sent on their way. Anyway - your clinic is a palace compared to his.

As for In-laws, I'm in the same boat as you are. My family love D, but her mother can't stand the fact that she's a lesbian, so I get the resentment from them.

I hope that David's parents realize that giving and being loved is what is important and see how happy you make their son.

Merry Solstice -

Sheepish Annie said...

Good attitude toward The Queen Of Denial. Engaging her will just escalate things and there will never really be hope for peace. And it will make David's life sucky... I think that taking "the high road" here makes you the better person.

Love the new work digs. Very spacious and inspiring of confidence! Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I'm sure that when she reads your description of her, David's mother will warm right up to you.

Carol said...

Oh sweetheart, let me just say that as the mom of 3, nothing would make me happier than for one of my kids -- daughter OR sons -- to be in a relationship with someone like you. It's cold comfort to say "her loss," but it truly is.

Happy everything: Christmas, Festivus, Chanukah, Solstice, whatev.

p.s. Anonymous can suck it.

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say that we indeed do love David and are very happy that he is now part of our family.

Mel's Mom

mehitabel said...

I'm also hoping that you will find acceptance (if not love) from "the woman". I spent many long years not being accepted by the mother of the man I loved; her idea of acceptance was "well, at least you're white." She was mean to the grandkids, too. As Carol said, "her loss."

Dana S. Whitney said...

I join the chorus of well-wishers... and hope that everyone can play nice and be grown up... at the very minimum!.. The clinic looks amazing and I hope you'll send up a flair when you have your own Animal Planet show. (Alpacas are profoundly under-represented, as are llamas, musk ox(en) and, frankly, even sheep.
Happy New Year!