glass half full...

I don't generally post personal stuff on my blog and/or Facebook, however, I wanted to let my clients, etc know why I have been a bit behind on responses, posting sessions in the past few days:
I am the kind of person who sees the glass as half full ; every situation allows us too see that side of it. Sometimes it takes a lot to see the "full" part, though.
On Sat eve, my youngest daughter, Taylor, was in a serious car accident. She was leaving a babysitting job and heading to pick up Nicole, Courtney, Mike & friends after their night out - being responsible, providing them a safe ride home. Taylor was not drinking, not texting, and driving the speed limit - unfortunately, a speed that was too fast for the road conditions. Her right tire hit some slushy, icy "stuff" , causing her to lose control. As she veered left toward the median, she pulled to the right - she then went over the curb and hit a telephone pole dead center in her door. She then went through a large chain link fence. The telephone pole was uprooted & snapped in half - one half in her door, the other half across her roof. Amazingly, she was completely unharmed.
Unbelievably, the first person to stop happened to be a deputy sheriff - AND our old neighbor of 10 years. Chris is 26 and grew up with our girls; he and his 2 brothers acting as big brothers to our 3 girls. Imagine his shock when he witnessed the accident, ran up to find Taylor in the car! We are so thankful that he was there with her until we could get there.
I am a firm believer in safe cars - it was so ridiculously scary to see the car with the impression of a huge telephone pole in her door & roof, broken windows, deployed air bags & a safe bubble around the driver seat. Strangely enough, we have had 3 Toyota's totaled in the last 4 years - with no injuries! We are very disappointed to lose her beautiful 2000 Lexus SUV- she got such a great deal on this great car (and just finished paying it off...). However, the half full glass is so very clear here! Shopping for another car pales in comparison to the alternative. We'll take our beautiful daughter over a beautiful car any day.
While we were getting a grip on Saturdays' events, we had another event on Sun. Our 5 year old dobie, Zane, needed to visit the emergency vet. Zane & Phoebe were our family pets, but when Courtney bought her house, they went with her. She had taken over the role as Mom with them! Zane has, sadly, been diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. It is a genetic heart disease common to large dogs. It does not have a good prognosis. He is on heart meds & diuretics & seems much more comfortable now that his lungs are cleared out somewhat.
We are all broken hearted. Zane is such a regal, loyal, sweet tempered boy - we never worried about Courtney living on her own or walking at night - not with her boy by her side.
We realize not all people are "dog people", but for those that are - they can understand. Our pets are our family. They love unconditionally, don't hold grudges, keep secrets, support all your decisions, go with the flow & don't ask for much. We will do all that we can to keep Zane as healthy and comfortable as possible. He deserves this much!
Although it is hard to see the glass half full in Zane's situation - we are really looking for it. We are grateful that Courtney caught the symptoms early, we are grateful that he is such a good boy through all this (he doesn't mind the vets too much) and we are so grateful that he is feeling so much better than he was a few days ago. We will look at each day that he can spend with us and his girlfriend, Phoebe, as "full days".