A Refresher Course in "Life's Not Fair"

First, the "disclaimer" - The following depiction of events comes from the heart.
I do realize that in the whole scheme of things (re: Life) this is really "no big deal."
Lord knows I don't want to take away from anyone's suffering, losses, etc.
I am, however, a mother, and my children have been hurt. I am guilty of tunnel vision
where my family is concerned and they are MY "Life."

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Life's NOT fair... and yes, I know better than to expect it to be.

Last Sunday evening I sent my 10-yr old son out to feed the cat. Moments later he and my 7-yr old daughter were screaming and crying hysterically.

Our 10-day old kittens had been killed by our neighbor's dog

and were scattered over our driveway in various states of mutilation. The neighbor's two dogs were running loose in our yard.

Where do I begin? My thoughts (in no particular order)

• Our family is devastated over the loss of the kittens. They were just beginning to open their eyes and the kids had already named them.
• There is nothing I can do to erase what my children saw.
• I can't make the hurt go away for them.
• I won't forget holding my sobbing son as he railed over the injustice and how the dog "showed no mercy" to the kittens. Nor will I forget hearing both kids repeatedly ask me "Why?" And of course, I had no answer for them.
• The neighbors know their dog is vicious. They told me in December their dog would kill my cat if the dog were to get out and the cat was around. Their dog got out quite a bit.
• The dog was running wild and charging toward Ken and Christopher. There was no doubt in my husband's mind that if he hadn't been there, Christopher would have run from the dog and the dog would have attacked him. Ken got Christopher behind him and they stopped where they were. I believe Ken's size and his confident manner kept the dog at bay. The dog's behavior was frenzied to say the least.
• It is because of this dog that my daughter doesn't like to play outside. Even in the fenced-yard. Now I'm not comfortable even letting them go out in the front yard, across the street to get the mail, or walk to their friend's homes.
• The neighbor has 2 young sons. I can't understand why they insist on keeping a dog with its nature. The fence doesn't keep it contained so they added an electric fence - apparently that's not working well, either.
• We listened as our cat meowed/cried outside our window that night. She was in the spot where she had the kittens and we set up their secluded home.
• I hurt for my husband who had the task of gathering and burying the kittens. We were trying to act quickly and keep the scent from Mischief who was looking for the kittens. I kept the cat away and Abbey and Christopher took turns holding the flashlight so Kenneth could get the grave ready.
• The neighbor's reaction... "Oh, I guess we forgot to turn on the electric fence."
• Since we didn't see the dog attack our kittens, NOTHING is going to be done by the authorities. Our neighborhood rarely has dogs running loose so this was a no-brainer, all things considered. If we file a report, the neighbor will be fined for their two dogs being loose - about $165 each.
• BUT - since they claim our cat goes on their property (near that dog?), Animal Control will fine us for our cat not being contained or on a leash. It seems our county has a leash-law for dogs AND cats. We would be fined additionally because our cat doesn't wear a collar and rabies vaccination tag. This was intentional as collars aren't safe on outdoor cats and can cause the cat to be hung. So, the bottom line...both families received warnings concerning the pets.
• Our puppy was spooked by the experience, too. Our gate is right next to where the kittens were kept and Izzie was outside at the time. We didn't notice anything with her that evening but the next morning when it was time to go out she didn't want to leave her crate. Normally she makes a mad dash to the door! She also cringes a bit now when she hears the bark of a large dog nearby.
• Nope, Life's NOT fair... I'll bet you already knew that, though.

Catching Up...

Hi there!
Lots to catch up on in this and the next few posts. Travel and illness have kept me away from the computer more than I would have liked. I sure hope you're enjoying beautiful spring weather. I know we are!

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-Long- If you get bored easily just know our cat had kittens. Now you can scroll to the next part...

Excitement Was In the Air!!!
A truly awe-inspiring event for our family. Our cat, Mischief, gave birth to 4 unbelievably tiny, remarkable, kittens just hours before we left for Florida. Our oldest son was home for the weekend to take care of the pets. We teased him that she would have the kittens while we were gone - we never considered she might have them before we left! Since nothing for us is ever "normal," I guess it's no surprise that the cat couldn't just curl up in a nice dark place and quietly have her babies - oh no - not our cat...

Ken noticed something by the cat (he thought she had caught a mouse or something) when we pulled in the driveway from dinner. On closer inspection he realized it was a baby kitten - and - there were two of them! We were so excited!

Our puppy, Izzie, was making a commotion in the side yard and when we turned our attention to her, she was trying to show us a baby kitten on the ground by her (on the other side of the fence). Oh! Ok, there are 3 kittens! We were so proud of Izzie - she saved that kitten's life. Next we had to determine how to get the kitten and its momma together. Ken carefully gathered it up and placed it in the box he quickly got together for mom and babies.

A short while later Mischief left the box and went over to her food. I peeked in on the kittens. When I looked back - there was another one (sack and all) on the ground by where the cat was just eating! Ken's on the phone for work, Christopher is hysterically begging me to do something, Ken's still on the phone. I'm a city girl and only know about birthin' human babies! Afraid to touch the kitten (and, in all honesty, a little grossed out), I did the only other thing I could think of - I walked around to where the cat was with the other babies, picked her up, and took her over to the kitten. It took her a sec but she finally realized she had a baby there. She grabbed up the sack and part of the baby and hopped back in the box - only - the kitten didn't make it all the way - it was stuck clinging to the side (towel). With a gentle nudge from me and some attention from mama cat - it finally made it into the box. I really can't convey the awe and excitement, and yes, stress, our family experienced that evening. None of us really knew what needed to be done and frankly, we probably didn't need to do much. This was a new experience for us and we kept a close eye on the cats the remainder of the evening. We hated to be leaving them in a few hours but knew we'd done all we could to make sure they were comfortable, out of the weather, and in a place acceptable to our cat.

While we were away our son was great at letting us know how they were all doing and checking on them regularly. It's amazing how much those babies grew in the 4 days we were gone!

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Florida Trip...
I can't begin to tell you how wonderful our Florida trip was. To see so many family members gathered together at once was heartwarming, to say the very least. To have the opportunity to share in the celebration of Ken's Aunt & Uncle's 50th Wedding Anniversary was an honor. My only regret was that our 3 oldest children weren't there with us. Ok, maybe two regrets...also that there wasn't more time to spend with individual family members and really catch-up.

Our family of 4, Ken's brother's family of 4 and my mother-in-law pretty much spent the 4 days together. That was different for us but very enjoyable. Some highlights...the Italian restaurant we ate at the first evening. We had a great time! ...our daily "it's too early to be out in public and sociable during breakfast in the hotel" mornings (Abbey never finished anything but was always hungry 10 minutes later)...A small beach outing followed by oceanside lunch eaten outside had us jockeying for position out of the sun...Seafood dinner (again) oceanside on our final evening - complete with key lime pie candies! And, of course, the anniversary party Saturday evening and visiting with relatives (and eating amazing leftovers from the night before) Sunday afternoon. And finally, being the ever-considerate family that we are, we didn't even make enough noise on our departure (at 3:30 am) to wake our fellow travelers who (yawn) didn't hit the road until 5 or 6 hours later! Did I mention how great Cracker Barrel's coffee is???

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The following arrived in my email today. If you are anythink like me, life's various truths are known to our logical minds but these reminders never hurt...



The Bottom Line...
FACE IT... Nobody owes you a living, what you achieve or fail to achieve in your lifetime is directly related to what you do or fail to do.



No one chooses his .parents or childhood but you can choose your own direction.

Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome, but that too is relative to each individual. NOTHING IS CARVED IN STONE...



You can change anything in your life, if you want to badly enough. Excuses are for losers: those who take responsibility for their actions are the real winners in life. Winners meet life challenges head on, knowing there are no guarantees, and give it all they've got. And never think it's too late or too early to begin, time plays no favorites and will pass whether you act or not.



TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE...Dare to dream and take risks...Compete. If you aren't willing to work for your goals don't expect others to.



Unfortunately I don't know who to credit for these wise words. I just hope I (we?) remember them during those times of complacency.


Blessings...

Spring also means...

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday about spring is the return of baseball! Now, living here in SC puts me in Atlanta Braves country. However, one thing from Florida I still proudly claim are my Florida Marlins. The Braves are fine, I guess, but I'll never have the love for them that I do my team. One of my most favorite memories is of being on the field, in the dugout and in the home team locker rooms of (what used to be called) Joe Robbie Stadium. I even have a bottle of dirt from the infield. Of course I could never decide if I preferred to imagine my dirt with or without someone's spit in it. I guess that depends on just how big a fan you liken yourself to be...

Does anyone else remember Monday Night Baseball? That was before ESPN, et al. Yes, that's forever ago and just kind of a random thought that floated near enough to grab.

Well, ahem, back to the Marlins. They're actually leading their division with a 4-3 record. I'm looking forward to our homestand against the Braves beginning the 15th. With the Braves bullpen (or lack thereof) it should make for an interesting series. With the televised Braves games I'll even be able to see it!

PLAY BALL!

P.S. to Dawn in PA...we lost our (minor league) hockey team - Greenville Growl

Such is the life...

of an "Independent Beauty Consultant"

Wow! It's been a long time and trust me, I've missed my blog! I won't bore you with the whole "I've been so busy" routine - we all have one of those. Let's just say that the new business is going pretty well and I'm really enjoying it. The kids are all fine and we'll soon be having a respite from the day-in-day-out routine with a weekend in Florida and a week in Las Vegas. I'm anxious for the trips but not necessarily for the prep (i.e. laundry, packing, etc.)

One great thing about life these days is that I'm meeting some wonderful people and actually touching base with some "long-lost folks" from my life history (Hi Jenny in TX!)

You may remember we recently brought two puppies home; Izzie and Bailey. Izzie is growing a bit each day and is a warm, wonderful pet. Bailey, well-loved, and now greatly missed, now belongs to my daughter, Elisa, and her husband, Rob. One puppy is much easier for us to take care of and we now have a more personal relationship with Izzie than we would have had we kept both dogs. Bailey is growing by leaps and bounds and promises to be quite a big girl by the time Christmas rolls around! They were both about 5 lbs. when we brought them home and now, nearing the 4-month old mark, Izzie is 22 lbs. and Bailey is, well, more than that.

This time of year is a tough one for me. You see, I have a love/hate relationship with spring. Spring is beautiful, smells nice, can be invigorating and people seem to smile more. But, on the other hand, spring is equal to being on the top of the slide...and down...right...into...summer. I HATE the heat. July and August are miserable. September at least brings the promise of autumn. So you see...I live happily for October through April. May through September I'm just not a very nice person to be around. I understand the thermometer will reach 80+ on Thursday! So you see, it's starting already.

Seriously, though, I hope you take the time to enjoy the beauty of spring.