Banned from the PetCo

Rosie, our humapup (she thinks she's a human), is.....neurotic.  She has issues.  But, we love her.  Amongst her issues is the fact that she has some strange spinal/nerve problem that can make her get very testy when her paws are touched and can make her go crazy when the vibration of the grooming shears is on her paws. City dogs tend to be more well groomed than Vashon dogs.  But, even by my island standards, she really needed to be groomed.  So, I drugged her up with pain pills and muscle relaxers and took her in to PetCo.  I told them about her condition and they just wanted confirmation of her rabies shot - smart move.

As I was browsing through the store not 5 minutes after I dropped her off, my name was called on the intercom and I was asked to come back to the grooming area.  I took a deep breath and cringed as I headed back.  The groomer - a dark skinned woman - was covered in white power from head to foot.  It was quite a sight!  She had used  the high powered dryer on Rosie and was blasted by a cloud of white dust.  My jaw dropped when she asked what the powder was.  She finally told me to close my jaw and answer her question.  I realized she probably thought my dog's kinky fur was the hiding spot for a significant amount of cocaine.  I recovered enough to finally tell her it must be the dust and carpet residue from our apartment.  The other employees thought it was all pretty funny and kept calling the groomer "Casper".  

About 4 hours later, the groomer called and asked me to pick up Rosie right away.  Apparently, she was freaking out.  They had to double muzzle her and she nearly broke a pair of grooming shears with her flipping around and trying to get away from the groomer.  When we picked her up, they had done the best they could, but she ended up looking like a bobble head dog with a fluffy face and fully shaved body.  I was fully expecting them to tell me she was banned and not to bother coming back.  Instead they said "next time you call for an appointment, just ask for Casper and we'll know who it is" - and no doubt be conveniently booked up for the foreseeable future!

A Wrong Turn

It was an eventful day yesterday.  While working out at the gym, Sophie seriously injured her ankle.  After several hours of ice and elevation, it was still very swollen, bruised and I thought perhaps fractured.  I decided to take her in for an x-ray.  I have way more experiences with hospitals than I'd like to admit, so I know it's important to find a good one.  I looked up a few and decided to take her to the National Children's Hospital.  As we approached, it was a beautiful building but the parking was confusing.  Little did I know that the area's trauma hospital was right next door.  I made a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong ER.  I decided to stay there, as Sophie couldn't walk very well and it was a trek back to the car and to the Children's Hospital next door and all we needed was a quick x-ray.  This launched quite a Saturday night adventure.  Upon request, I left Xavier at home, watching a movie, thinking I'd be back before it was over.  After nearly 2 hours and the only progress being that Sophie was sitting in a bed in the corridor of the ER, I was feeling nervous about Xavier being home.  So, I left Sophie and went home to get Xavier.  By the time I got back, there were police guarding the doors to the ER and I was not allowed into the area because of a "code".  As Xavier and I sat in the waiting room, with police guarding doors, someone being brought in with handcuffs, all I could imagine was that Sophie was sitting in the middle of the ER being traumatized.  We were finally allowed back, Sophie had her X-ray and while we waited for the results, the ER drama continued, with someone dying, police keeping a close eye on what was happening and family members coming in to view the deceased.  All we needed was an X-ray.  After 5 hours, we were sent home with crutches and strong ibuprofen and another adventure to add to our very long list of things the 3 of us have seen.

Next time, I will be sure to turn into the correct parking lot.

One Step at a Time.....

We're quickly heading into our first week without my mom here to help out.  I'm sure we'll do fine, but it's another step into our lives here.  I'm trying to tap into some of the spoils of city living - like Thai food delivery and primary care docs with weekend and evening hours - to make it all manageable.  Still, I do have my moments of overwhelm - like when I spent most of my day today shopping, cleaning and getting ready for the week and went to bake a little treat for ME - gluten free cookies -  only to find that Sophie had used the last of the butter baking regular cookies for her and Xavier. Thankfully, we live in the city, so I could send her out to walk the couple blocks to the corner store and get more butter.   Looks like we'll be ok after all......

Urban Assault

Overall, I'm loving DC from being able to see the sun most days to reveling in free concerts at Kennedy Center and the National Cathedral to the beauty and history everywhere.  But, I think living on Vashon for most of the past nearly 8 years has made me move to a a slower beat.  I crave quiet, calm and nature.  The community where we live is as close to that as I think you can get and still be in the city.  I find that the morning routine of driving the less than 2 miles to Sophie's school, then the mile or so back towards home to Xavier's school and finally driving around in circles to find a place to park to take the subway and the reverse in the evenings (made more complicated by needing to find a place to park at each school in the evenings) leaves me feeling practically assaulted.  The defensive driving skills I learned in Ghana are coming in handy.  The sirens, lights and the fact that it feels like yelling is the major form of communication is dizzying for me.  I sometimes find myself paralyzed int he midst of it all.  By the time I get home in the evenings, I want to hide away in our quiet apartment and sit in silence.  Not something that happens very often with 2 kids and a hyper dog who all have so much to share about their days.  Today, Xavier, Rosie I walked in the woods near our house.  The area is a ravine with a creek running through it and I felt like I could breathe.  Xavier delighted in the mud, sticks and rocks and Rosie was in heaven being able to dip herself in the water.  I almost forgot I was in DC - until the police helicopter flew overhead!  We will all find our little pieces of the island quiet we love wherever we can!

The Person Behind the Dog

Another part of the DC culture that we're trying to get used to is the love of dogs.  While we absolutely love ours and come from Vashon, where dogs' rights are a point of intense community discourse, we also are used to humans interacting with each other as well as the dogs.  We've found that here, many in the community knew Rosie even before she arrived and enthusiastically greeted her on the street and in the dog park.  During most of these encounters, I'd watch as the person talked on and on about their dog, asked questions about Rosie and, as they were about to depart, I'd introduce myself.  The first time I did this the woman said "Oh, I'll remember the dog, you know how it is". Another woman spent some time telling me about her dogs and admiring Rosie, then launched into a long and very personal story.  At the end, I felt awkward that she had shared so much without even telling me her name, so I asked her name and gave her mine.  She seemed a bit taken aback, like it hadn't occurred to her to introduce herself.   Others haven't been quite so blunt, but it is clear that the people aren't so interested in knowing the person behind the dog, they just want to know the dog.  I have to wonder if this is some "safe"way to be out and about and have social interaction without having to actually put yourself out to another person.  I'm not sure, but I find it intriguing.  

Feeling Very "Secure"

DC is a beautiful city - gorgeous architecture, historic sites everywhere, the weather has been wonderful and it feels so much like an international city that the kids occasionally ask things like "do they use metric here?" because they forget they're still in the US!  One of the things we all noticed immediately and is slowly becoming a "normal" part of our lives is the high security everywhere.  We live literally across the street from where the Obama girls go to school and we are now used to seeing Secret Service at every corner in the mornings and afternoons and occasionally having to slow for motorcades dashing by.  Beyond that, both kids have security at their schools.  Xavier's school is monitored by a guard at the main door who diligently watches the perimeter on screens and dashed out to question me when I was taking pictures outside one day.  Meanwhile Sophie's school goes many steps further and has metal detectors at the doors, security guards in every classroom AND the bathrooms!  It's a really beautiful, well-run school but there are many kids from embassies and high net worth families that go there and all we can guess is that they are just really careful to ensure there aren't any incidents.  Sophie says it makes her feel really safe, so I guess that's good.  And, I'm getting used to showing my ID and having to have someone sign me in to any office building I enter.  I also take the subway to work and there are often police officers and K-9 units patrolling.  At a concert at Kennedy Center last night, officers with a K-9 unit swept through several times as just a matter of course.

So, we are feeling quite secure here and it's another element of life in DC that we're getting used to.  

Another Adventure

We are in DC and finally getting settled in.  We are here for a year or two, for my job as the Global Partnership Director of the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action - MAMA www.mobilemamaalliance.org.  It's a partnership between USAID, Johnson & Johnson, the United Nations Foundation and the Mobile Health Alliance.  My office is in Dupont Circle at the UNF buildings.  The kids and I have a beautiful, light-filled apartment in McLean Gardens, a 23 acre community in Northwest DC, just blocks to the National Cathedral.  We have lots of open space, a dog park and community garden nearby and it feels like a nice mix of urban and a bit of nature.  We've just finished our first full week of work and school and so far, we are all adjusting pretty darn well.  Xavier and I arrived a week ahead of Sophie and Rosie, accompanied by my Mom, who is here helping out for a couple of weeks.  Xavier and I spent our days juggling incredible logistics to get thins in place - balancing rental cars, buying a new car, getting furniture delivered and shopping for everything from toilet paper to pans to bedding.  He was truly a trooper and we both found ourselves generally exhausted and speechless at night while we ate dinner and dropped into bed.  But, the basics were in place by the time "the girls" arrived a week later and the kids were able to start school last Monday while I started my regular in-the-office work days and Rosie started getting used to having scheduled dog walks by a dog walker.  My mom spent her days getting us organized at home and we now feel like we are fully launched into this particular adventure.