S. has arrived safely at her hotel in Bangkok.   She called a few minutes after 2 pm here–2 am Tuesday there–indicating that the trip had been long but uneventful and that it felt good to be back in a city she knew so well, doing work she believes in again.  Needless to say, the  news of her arrival thrilled me.  It’s always been difficult for me to relax knowing that she is in transit to the other side of the globe.  But now that she’s arrived, I feel a bit better, less anxious, less preoccupied with fears of plane crashes and other man made disasters.  My baby is safe and I am satisfied accordingly.

However, I’m now worrying about Ralph, the older and larger of our two dogs, who injured his leg this afternoon while running in the yard.  He circled the fence line at high speed and on the curve closest to the gate he yelped and came limping to me on three legs.  He still, several hours later, refuses to put weight on the injured limb and is unable to jump up onto the bed.  I’m having to lift him.

This concerns me especially, since, as a puppy, he was hit by a car and had to have both hips fused back together.    This makes me think he is both more vulnerable to injury and less likely to heal easily.  If he has not improved by morning, I will have to take him to the vet for examination and x-ray.

Now, however, I’m sleepy and ready for bed–ridiculously early, I know.  Hopefully, I’ll awaken refreshed, and unlike Ralph, will not limp through peer review sessions with students tomorrow.