After a uber-long hiatus.....

I'm back. We were in Ohio for an month & I really truly intended on posting while I was there...but things got complicated.

First let me say that all in all in was a good trip...I was thrilled to see my family & we had some really great times. I can't wait to go back again soon:) Yes, I even find myself fantasizing about moving back there, but as we all know, it's not quite so easy in real life.

Yes, things got complicated.....we arrived in OH on June 28th & spent the first night with my family in Louisville. They next morning I packed up the kids & we headed south an hour plus, to my dad & stepmom's place in Bergholz. I thought we were off to a really good start.....'thought' being the key word here. After we had been there about 3 hours, I went out on the 4-wheelers with my dad to check out some improvements that have been made to the 500 acre piece of land they own. When we arrived back about 1/2 hour later, one of my sisters tells me that D. has been bitten by their beagle. I go rushing into the house to find my baby girl (yes, even at 8, she is still my baby girl) has be bit in the face. To be honest, I really still can't talk about it a whole lot. I thought I could...while I was there...but I was surrounded by people who were going through it with us. But once I got back to Alaska, I've found it very difficult to talk about without completely falling apart.........
I will say this...she is okay...there are scars...we had a really rough time of it. In addition to the initial incident, 2 of the wounds abcessed significantly & she ended up back in the hospital. After hospital treatment )including opening those wounds back up to drain them), loads of antibiotics, & lots of TLC, we saw an awesome plastic surgeon in Canton who said things are looking really good . She is left with one very small scar & 2 slightly larger scars with knots of scar tissue underneath. The surgeon said we should not expect these scars to heal anymore than they already have, as they are keloid scars. They will eventually have to be corrected with plastic surgery.......but that's a long ways away.
D. seems to be doing well emotionally...she'll talk about it with people she trusts but is still dealing with the whole situation. Lying in bed last night I was trying to figure out why the is so hard to deal with now, almost more so than when it happend. The best I can come up with is that while in Ohio, we were kind of forced to cope. We were out of our element & just going through the motions.....but now we are home, in our comfort zone and finally allowing ourselves time to heal....and it's hard. Like I've told several people close to me, it's absolutely the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with...worse than high-risk preganancies, worse than losing loved ones...just the worst...it's my baby & I couldn't protect her..I just want to be able to take it all away ..any that all on that topic for now......

So now we are getting back in the swing of things. Re-bonding with our dog, visiting with friends we missed like crazy & gearing up for the school year that starts August 22nd. Over the next few weeks I'll try to share photos & details of the trip.

Later gators....