Socializing Holly

It's early Saturday morning, and Nick's taken Holly to the park. A fellow dog owner told him that if you go to Forest Park before 9 you can let dogs off leash in a large fenced-in part of the park. She needs socialization, our Holly, so that she can learn to play well with others. Right now her social skills are limited to skittishness and barking. She also needs endless exercise, just because she's a Jack Russell and therefore has limitless energy -- she's like an overwound top who literally vibrates with intensity. He just texted that there are about two dozen dogs and she's having the time of her life.

Today should be the first day since the surgery that approaches normalcy. We'll do errands, and I'll go along for the ride. And even though the list of chores includes nothing more exciting than food shopping, dry cleaners and drug store it's a big deal for me (I'll no doubt need a couple of naps just to recover from the glory.)

Last night was -- in Olivia's words -- Wendy's big night out. We went to my parents for Rosh Hashana; Matt came in from Amherst and Liv brought Jon. Great dinner, lovely evening and in these particular times a milestone for me. I made it through dinner and was able to stay for two full hours before I got too tired. It was great having everyone together in the same time in the same place (though the kids didn't talk and the only exchanges between them had to do with passing food from one to the other.)

I'm going back to work on Monday, and hoping to make it through an entire day, though we'll see. I was supposed to call the doc Friday for clearance, but forgot.

Some things in the news that puzzle me:

• Why would someone spend $63,000 to have dinner with Sarah Palin?
• Why did the conservative right have to turn out to be right about Acorn?
• Did Jimmy Carter's comments do more harm than good?
• How can David Brooks believe that the great divide and vitriol we're seeing is sourced from populism and not race?
• Did the House resolution on Joe Wilson help make him a martyr and was there an alternative?
  
• Can health care reform be salvaged?
• Will Michele Obama's efforts help advance health insurance reform?
  
• How many seats will the Democrats lose in the midterm elections?
• Can anyone mobilize kids to vote in those elections?
• Which Republican seats are at risk?