Nicole feels

M and several others were totally right - all water retention. I was back down to 136 on Wednesday and 135.5 today. Half a pound to go - woohoo!!!

Now the question is, will I reach that tomorrow, an *official* weigh-in day?

That'd be really kickin'.

Tuesday night I noticed some Common Grackles flying a bit strangely, flitting from limb to limb, one of them going from the ground to the branches, back and forth, back and forth. At first I chalked it up to a late Spring mating ritual. Then curiosity got the best of me, so I stood up from my seat on the deck and peered over the rail.

A cat. One of the birds was dive bombing it, so I immediately knew the feline must have gotten a baby.

As I approached, the kitty made a break for it, and I found a squeaking, hungry baby bird in the grass. Parker and I gathered him up. The kids helped me make a nest for him in a shoe box, and we fed him a worm, some milk soaked bread before we knew better (gotta love the Internet), and some watered-down catfood.

After more research, we put the little guy, which Kay had named Ed, in a basket with the nesting materials, a sock filled with warm rice (remember the squirrel baby rescue), and we did our best to get said basket up into the tree we assumed he'd fallen from.

Unfortunately, mom and dad didn't get to him, or didn't care to handle two nests, because the next day he had perished. I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that he'd likely not make it, but Parker was inconsolable. He and Nathan buried him, and Parker constructed a pebble memorial. He cried on and off all afternoon. Broke my heart.

But, you know, I am glad he has such a tender heart, hard as it was to see it breaking yesterday. He was still talking about Ed this morning, wondering if he'd get to see him in heaven.

These are moments I'll cherish one day, right? Even as tough as they were at the time.