If you don’t know why I refer to Axel as The Grim, then you are not current on your Harry Potter. To which I suggest you remedy that, immediately. He has also been called The Big Bad Wolf, due to the frightening resemblance he bears to a fictional bad guy. Not because he IS a bad guy, he just looks like one.
He has come home now, just moments ago. Still a wee bit wobbly on his feet, and certainly emanating a sense of quietude I never seen in him. The surgery for tumour removal was fairly invasive, but the vet felt our result would be positive for excellent healing and not much chance for re-growth.
He will be resting tonight, with his former dangly bits wrapped to keep hematomas at bay. I will give updates as he continues to heal. Thank you all so much for every bit of thoughtful best wishes. I know they helped.
In my erranding these past few days I have seen only a few foreign license plates, but the funny part was I saw one far-away state two times: North Dakota (no it was not the same car twice, it was two totally different cars). Also one Alberta and a Florida. Like I said, not many, but good ones.
Within one block of each other I saw two people walking and playing musical instruments. Okay, fine it was the library block, but still… one oboe and one flute. Quite lyrical, even if they weren’t playing together.
In our card draw today I seriously debated cheating. (I have never done this before, and REALLY never even come close in doing it for another person.) See, the card we got was not a lovely one, nor was it inspiring. But then, the more I stood there, asking… should I pitch it and move on to the next? I got an answer: keep it and expand. So, here is what we got, and after the definition Sylvia provides, I will do as instructed, I will get all expansive. 
(Do not ask me why this picture has decided to go over there, I am being pestered right now, and having trouble concentrating.)
“Handling Divorce ~ Divorce can be a cruel severance of a way of life, a path of ending and change. It happens because one person grows in a different way than their partner does. Divorce is also an opportunity for rebirth -to prove to yourself that you can make it on your own.”
At first I did cringe, but then I listened. This is a tough one, changes are impossibly challenging, especially relationship changes. But as Sylvia points out, we need to change in order to grow. No one should ever be forced to live their life in unhappiness, or in pain, or in sorrow. We must all be supportive of any person who feels the need to make these changes, perhaps putting our own discomfort and feelings of loss aside for a time.
The processing this news takes is another issue. We can never see what is in another person’s relationship/marriage. We don’t live there, we may think we know, but we don’t. As much as we love those people, as much as we think our lives depend on that marriage staying as it once was (or as we thought it once was) it is not our place to judge. (Although we are allowed to cry, scream, flail about wildly, and throw a huge freaking fit.)
One more thing, the word “divorce” does not necessarily mean “end of marriage” every time. It also can mean a removal or a separation of some sort, that is not relationship based.
