New Experience for Moose

One of the things I've been worried about with the upcoming trip is how Moose is going to handle it.  He's not good with change in the best of times (I know, I know - neither is his mama), and he fears long car rides, because when he was a pup, every time he went for a ride, his mama changed.  That kind of thing can put a fear on a boy... Plus, he's going to be dealing with a lot more people than he normally sees, and he already has a history of freaking out every time Uncle Ron comes into the room  Also, I have pain meds for him, but he really resists them (no matter what I hide them in, he finds a way to spit it out - it's like there's a little spring on the back of his throat that kicks in once the peanut butter or pill pocket or whatever is gone.)

So... I decided that since I live in the land of legal weed, and I've been wanting to see the effects anyway, Moose could be my test subject.  (I would feel guilty about this, but check out the rest of the story.)  Daniel picked me up a bottle of Fairwinds Tincture Companion (it's bacon flavored CBD oil).  I was worried about his recent rejection of meds, and trying to figure out how to get him to take it, but the minute Daniel brought in the box, Moose started sniffing it like it was a BarkBox, wagging his tail hard enough to set off a small cyclone in the living room, and then he started licking the box.  I opened it up, got out the bottle (with the boy jonesing hard all the while), put a couple of drops in my hand, and he licked it up out of my hand - and kept licking, and licking, and licking...  It said on the website that it might take a couple of hours to kick in, but Moose is currently as mellow as I've seen him.  I was wondering about the munchies, but he seems content to just lay in Mama's lap and contemplate the universe.  I think this might work!

Birth Control - It's Not Just For Sluts

I've been sitting here getting angrier and angrier about the Trump administration's framing of the birth control debate as being about the "religious liberty" of the employer.  This is an attack on women, pure and simple. It's not even an attack on sexuality in general (although God knows there's plenty of other attacks on any non-missionary form of sexuality). No, this is an attempt to control women, through limiting their ability to control their own bodies.

Birth control makes it possible to work outside the home for millions of women - we can control (love that word) our pregnancies, planning them for when it's convenient or financially feasible. We can mitigate our risk of the unexpected.  But more importantly, birth control can help regulate our bodies. I know lots of women who are on birth control not because of frequent sex, but because it helps to keep them on a regular cycle, knowing when they're going to have to deal with blood and pain (I know, guys don't want to think about that part, but if you're going to be bloody and doubled over with cramps, it's good to know exactly when it's going to happen and be able to plan for it.) 

Then there's me. At a comfortably married 52, I should be beyond having to worry about this, right?  But I take a birth control pill daily to keep myself alive - my Megace is the only thing between me and uncontrollable, constant bleeding due to Hank the Tumor.  Should my employer (well, ex-employer, current insurance provider) really be allowed to say "I don't like people having sex, so Deci doesn't get life-saving meds"? Because that's where we're headed. It's not about sex... it's about control.