[The dogs sniffing Richard's rear as if he were a living lion]
When I say my life is a zoo, I really mean it. Literally.
First there are all the pets. Running through their names is like a Walton Family roll call. We're currently down to two dogs, six cats, two snakes, and one exotic. Yes, I said down to. We had two more cats, but after months, and even years, of these two cats pissing all over my historic Victorian home and getting tested for illness and coming up with nada, and trying behavioral techniques, the veterinarian and I agreed that Mr. and Miss Peebody had to live outside. And as outdoor cats are free to do, they've decided to take up with someone else. Which brings our total cat count down from eight to six.
So back to the zoo metaphor...
My life often feels LIKE a zoo, you know frenzied and varied and sometimes full of sh*t and often stinky, but many times beautiful and amazing.
And then there is the STEIFF zoo. It all started when I discovered a vintage Steiff poodle (a large 17" one made of mohair) at the local thrift store for a buck. This was back in February. Of this year. I suffer from OCD and Anxiety Disorder, and am probably Bi-polar with some mild Asperger's thrown in, so you might (or might not) understand how this one seemingly simple event would wind up triggering a massive obsession that has culminated with the arrival of a life-sized Steiff Studio Lion from the 1950s/60s to my home.
My husband has known it was coming--it only took four months and three weeks for "Richard the Lion Hearted" (that's my name for him--the lion, not the hubs) to arrive. I, of course, had to document the occasion with pix and called to joyfully let my hubs know about Richard's arrival last night. His response to my email containing Richard's pix: "Oh great heavenly days."
Because you see, the hubs has already had to endure the arrival of a life-sized Steiff baby giraffe, tortoise, tiger cub, German shepherd, and the smaller, yet still rather large kangaroo family, elephants, llamas, and really, I should stop now because it's just too embarrassing to list them all.
When I told my physician about the goings on concerning my Steiff zoo at Casa Sullivan, she said, "I think we need to change the dosage on your meds."
And it's helping. The crazy is a bit more controllable.
Now, let's take a moment to review my stand on mental disorders. If you can't have a sense of humor about your problems, you're doomed. This is not to downplay the seriousness of mental illness, but to actually bring attention to it in a way so that people who don't have it might empathize. This is why I refer to my medication as crazy meds and call my behavior crazy. Because it is and besides, laughter is supposed to be the best medicine.
So, my life is a zoo in every sense of the word, but there are much worse things my life could be. And who knows, I may be able to turn this whole silly chapter into a book at some point.
Besides, every house should have a giant antique lion in the living room, don't you think?
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