Some of you might remember that we’ve had a bit of a health worry about Cassie. She had some bumps show up on her side, leg and muzzle that we thought we be just a fatty cyst but ended up sending us off to the specialist for a biopsy and long 3 weeks of waiting for results. While I was waiting and worrying, Cassie, being Cassie, just went right on living her life. She didn’t care about the giant patches of shaved fur. She didn’t stay awake at night wondering about the diagnosis. She just lived. (Note to myself…quit worrying about the rosacea already and just live.)

Yesterday we finally got the results back from the biopsy. She has something called Cutaneous Histiocytosis. The vet says if she had to have a disease, this was the one to have. It’s not life threatening but possibly lifelong expensive if she is on medication for the rest of her life. Still, we know what we’re dealing with and can make informed decisions going forward. But we couldn’t have gotten the diagnosis without the help of a specialist that I felt comfortable with and trusted to take good care of Cassie.

I’ve been working on Flyboy’s story. It’s an old story being made new again. Some of the plot points are 20 years old. I’m attached to them. So attached that I can’t see what’s wrong with them.

Writers are a stubborn lot. Sometimes too stubborn for our own good. We need to remember that we don’t have to do it all alone. Sure, when we sit down at the computer it’s just us but once we have a draft and need a second set of eyes, we should have a support system that we trust to give us feedback. If we are stumbling around and trying to figure out which end of our plot is up, we should be able to bounce our ideas around with a couple of writer friends.

I’m grateful for my writer friends who watch me chase myself around in circles then listen to me whine and then, once I’m ready to admit that I need help, offer to brainstorm with me until I feel comfortable enough to let go of some tired old ideas and embrace some new ones.

Cassie is going to be okay. And so is Flyboy, thanks to a little help from my friends.