A Quick Recap

I have decided that December of 2014 stunk, and I have never been so glad to see a new month (and year) turn the corner.

December was rough:

• We learned on December 2 that my brother, in his inestimable "wisdom," was planning to appeal to the state Supreme Court regarding the termination of his parental rights. His lawyer had indicated to ours that she wouldn't pursue it further, but since she was appointed by the court to represent my brother, who claimed in forma pauperis status, she learned she was obligated to continue to represent him to the Supreme Court level. The county does not obligate her beyond that, so this should be it, but still. We're in the waiting game again, as the Supreme Court has a 45-day window to act before inaction is assumed to be a denial of the appeal.
• The afternoon of December 4, our ten-year-old cat Pa'ani fractured his left rear leg without traumatic incident. Twenty-four hours later, we were putting him to sleep and devastated by the loss. The vet sent us a lovely sympathy card and confirmed we made the right decision, but the right choice doesn't always mean it's the choice without tremendous pain.
• Large Fry has been having nightmares about Daddy Bro coming to the courthouse on the day of the adoption hearing and stopping it. Her worries have so consumed her that she is literally making herself sick. It's heart-wrenching.
• We got the flu. Every single one of us, including my parents. In the ten days before Christmas. It was horrible. Even if we'd all gotten the flu shot, we would have gotten it anyway. This strain wasn't in this year's vaccine. Small Fry got hit first, along with an initial event for Large Fry (although she didn't get fully sick for a few more days). She laid on the couch with a high fever for two days, unable to even muster up enthusiasm for Kimo's arrival. No church for either Small or Large that Sunday. The following Monday, Large got sent home from school with a triple-digit fever, and Hubby got told by his boss to "Go home and take your germs with you" at about the same time. He worked from home all week, as I got progressively worse. Large stayed home from school Tuesday and Wednesday. I managed the last of the Christmas shopping and some errands on Tuesday afternoon, and felt nearly half-dead by the time I was done, and scheduled a doctor's appointment for the next morning. I spent Wednesday in bed after my appointment, and Hubby helped take care of Large Fry (who probably could have gone back to school, but better safe than sorry). Medium came down with the flu on Friday evening, and dozed on church pews Saturday morning during rehearsal for Sunday's cantata at church...which Hubby and I barely managed to functionally sing for (he did better than I did). Meanwhile, my parents were so sick that they couldn't come for the cantata, and were barely able to come for Christmas Eve and Christmas. As it was, they headed home early, and we all were happy to have them, and happy that they went home, so we could all rest. I'm still not fully over it, since it triggered a sinus infection and horrible inflammation for me. Hooray!
• We got more legal bills. Ms. Sciuto's answer to the Allowance of Appeal petition was excellent, but it came with a price tag. We have no idea how much more this will cost, and we're ready to be done.

While Christmas was good, it was heavily overshadowed by how awful we all still felt. Kimo's arrival in our family was probably our one shining moment of the month. I still miss Pa'ani terribly, but having Kimo's bouncy presence has been a blessing. It's been fun having a kitten around again, even if he's driving me crazy by teething on anything he can get his mouth around (like my ankles).

I did have a moment of pure panic one afternoon, about three days after Kimo came home. I couldn't find him. I spent five minutes searching. We've tried to keep closed off certain parts of the house (like my home office) that could easily lose a small kitten, but there's still places like under couches and stuff where he could easily hide. I was panicking, and felt awful because I was getting sicker, and he wasn't used to his name enough to respond to it being called.

I did find him, though.

Yes. Really.

Eventually.