Day 1: Taking Gracie Swimming

February 5, 2011

One day after I picked up the boys from school we decided to have an impromptu trip to the beach.  My son Andre (shown here) had a trail of shoes and socks leading to the water and this little puppy Gracie was more than ready to follow him right in to the water.  She loved it til a wave smacked her in the face. Xander (the adult dog) was loving it.

Bobby Kitty Goes Jogging

Our family cat Bobby Kitty decided to start jogging today on the treadmill.  My Monkey boy, Andre has a concern about the animals gaining too much weight and has already tried previous times to put his Border Collie and mare on diets.  As October nears it's getting colder in the mornings so Bobby Kitty tries to sneak in the house for a morning warmup.  He has a nice garden shed to sleep in out of the elements but likes to pop in for a cuppa and some belly rubs.  We've had him and his brother Pablo Kitty since they were born 8 years ago so it was quite a suprise when I heard the treadmill turn on this morning as I was getting ready for work. I thought the kids were goofing off when they were supposed to be getting animals fed.  I was partially right.

Andre had turned on the treadmill at a very low speed and was holding Bobby Kitty over the treadmill's running surface encouraging him to run so that he could work off his fat tummy.  Now he's not fat, he's fluffy.  Winter fluffy.  The cat has reached larger proportions before so Andre's concern has some validity, but not today.  He has, what my dear Auntie would say, is a lion's belly.  Tristan, my way too cool 6th grader, swept in and rescued the annoyed kitty jogger before he could work up much of a sweat and catch his tail in the belt. 

When asked why he would do such a thing - Monkey Boy's response was "I didn't want him to get teased by the other cats because his belly is big like Garfield's.  Remember Mom when the alley cats made Garfield cry?"  Hmm, well the child was well meaning and dearly loves his kitty. So no disgusting tasks as punishment for a good deed gone awry.

Kitty still loves his kid and follows him around like a dog, hoping for a scratch behind the ears or on the belly.  Drooling all the while.  But I noticed Andre picked him up after he'd eaten for a couple of minutes to distract him.  I'll give him another handful when Monkey Boy goes to bed.

Exploring with Andre

Andre sitting on a petrified oak

Visiting the Ginko Petrified Forest.

Where we learned how the petrified wood was made in the volcano eruptions.
Who knew the Columbia Basin had 31 different types of trees that were petrified?









Amazing!!!



 

We then decided to hike up to see "Grandfather Let Loose the Ponies" on the Grant County side of the Columbia River. They are wonderful metal sculptures that we've always wanted to hike up to. Whew it is a hike too!!

Mommy only made it up 3/4 of the way before I made the mistake of looking down. But little Andre made it of course with Maggie his BC.





Andre & I in front of the Columbia River

It was a great day with a great kid!!

Two steps from Homeless

School is starting soon and I just took my two youngest sons school shopping in our favorite stores. They got to pick out quite a few different outfits each sticking to the budget I gave them before hand. We finished by going to one of my favorite restaurants The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. I love spending time with my children and realize that days like yesterday are numbered as they get older and will want to spend more time with their friends. We're moving soon to a new state so everything and every place will be a new adventure. I have two months to show them some of my favorite childhood places and help them remember where they started their lives.

I grew up going up to Spokane to visit my grandparents so am quite familiar with which parts are safe and which are not. My favorite restaurant happens to be in a part that can be questionable. I usually don't worry about that sort of thing. I believe that all adventures and experiences are growing experiences to be savored and embraced. Whether good, bad or scary. They are what makes us, us. I like to talk to people no matter where I am and have had conversations and meals with people in the ghetto of Charleston, a vegan cafe in Clonakilty, Ireland with two men who were members of the IRA and tea with a lady who might have been a voodoo priestess (I'm still not sure) also in Charleston, to name a few. I try to discipline myself to not think badly of people who are less fortunate than I. But I fear yesterday I failed miserably. I am a snob at heart.

My family has had their shares of hard time but we've always gotten by with my mom making the best of things. I have always had what I needed or wanted somehow. I would like to think that I am open-minded enough to be able to work with the homeless in a soup kitchen or help them find needed services. I've had a tiny bit of experience with this and have held that I would like to do more service work when we move to Florida where there are more programs available. Yesterday a homeless man approached me begging for money for food. I knew that there was a shelter close by so I lied and told him I didn’t have any cash. My littlest immediately picked up on that and was shocked that I would lie. I told him that it wasn’t safe to give a homeless person money because it might be a trick and the person might rob you or they might use it for drugs or booze. When did I become holier than thou? When did I apply for the all knowing position?

Today I am disgusted with myself that I set such an example for my sons. I am not better than that man and should not have presumed to decide how he should get money or food. I’ve made some bad decisions in my short life and if it wasn’t for my family and friends I could be where he is today. Somehow I’ve turned from the ideals I held up high to the mainstream blindness that I despised.

Rescued Border Collies & their side kick

The boys
Originally uploaded by Sarah Lynn 76

 - Magdalena (far left), Cutacow Xander (center) and my Mom's puppy Sirius (she bred Cutacow Sirius).

Sirius is learning how to be a show dog. He is already an experienced cattle dog taught by his Grammie Scottie; our old cattle dog and Grand Dame of the ranch.

Maggie was given to us by some ladies who found her lost and wandering alone in a field. She loves and takes care of my youngest son very well. She is a bit deaf and very frightened of loud noises.

Cutacow Xander was bred by my mother years ago (he is Sirius's uncle and Grammie Scottie's oldest son) and was sold to a woman who trained and showed him extensively. She did quite well and won several championships with him. She met a man online and the man did not get along at all with Xander. She chose the man over the dog.  They took Xander to the local Humane society and abandoned him saying they had found him along side of the road. My aunt found out that he was taken there and called my Dad. I adopted him from the shelter with the intention of our families fostering him until a new home could be found. He worked his way into our hearts and we decided to keep him. My oldest son showed him 3 months after we rescued him from jail and won our county's 4-H Jr Obedience moving on to the state level where he won his division and placed 2nd overall for the state by half a point. He accidentally gave a double command.

The dog still has his quirks but has become a very loving and wonderful addition to our family.  All three of these dogs are very different in personalities and temperments but love each other very much.  It's a joy to watch them sleep together or play after the scary times Maggie & Xander had before they found their way to our family.  You can tell by their attitudes that they were both once loved very much.  They want to be good and caring dogs.

Due to. . . .

My husband is working and living in Florida right now. Our kids and I live in Washington.

Due to my husband's move to keep his job after the market for his specialized field dried up in the Pacific Northwest we have had to maintain two households.

Due to this extreme geographical distance we do not get to see each other very often and so have to discuss everyday issues such as insurance coverage, bills, parenting, color of my hair by phone, emails or text messages.

Due to the stress of not being able to discuss such issues as a normal married couple would. We have the added stress on our relatively new marriage of me loosing my temper because he calls at inconvenient times. When the kids, who normally are well behaved just water bombed the dog or spilled something in the kitchen and forgot to clean it up. Or he just doesn't understand what the issue is with a bill, because, like me he is a visual person and to have me describing something to him 2,800 miles away the problem's details get lost on the airwaves.

Due to me having a wild past and having different fathers for my sons. Deciding an issue such as health insurance coverage that is affordable but still good coverage or why a child can not go see a rated R movie can become a United Nations discussion in need of a third party mediator. Usually my best friend or my parents. They all probably want to block my number but love me so haven't yet.

Due to me being an independent sort and basically raising my sons by myself because of break ups with their fathers and my husband constantly travelling for work my sons are turning out just like me and so just jump in and solve a problem for themselves forgetting that other people should sometimes be consulted. Usually their problem solving needs some tweaking. At least for now it does until they have more experience.

Due to me parenting mainly alone I forget that I am married now and should let my husband father once in a while without me jumping in to correct things to how I think they should go down.

Due to my husband having just moved to Florida and us living in Washington he mainly has "work" friends. It's hard to make close friends when you work construction and one of you will be moving on at the end of the job. So he doesn't always have a lot going on during the weekends when we are our busiest with different kids' activities.

Due to having to discuss the same topic with many different people when it regards my sons I'm thinking of buying stock in Tylenol and Tums.

Due to getting tired of the geographical distance between my husband and us I've decided to pack up all the animals, my boys and household goods and run away to the sea. Nothing heals the heart and nerves like lying next to the ocean and listening to the waves while your kids make sand castles...

Sitting in the Darkness

I am sitting in a straight backed chair in a room that is completely dark.  It is a dark that cannot be penetrated.  It is inky and complete.  I don't know for certain but believe that there are no doors, no windows, but somehow I have enough air and that is not a concern for me as I sit here.The same way I know that there are no doors or windows, I am sure that the walls are made of glass.  It is what is beyond those walls that frightens me.  I feel like the next layer beyond the inky blackness and glass walls is made up of red, swirling demons akin to a Chinese drawing of dragons.  They swirl around weightless beyond the glass waiting to for me to move so that they can move through the glass and rip me apart.  I hear the boys laughing and playing then, just beyond the dragons.  But they don't seem to notice the dragons moving about.  Are we in a basement or are we in a field with flowers and sunshine where my cube is anchored in a meadow?  I can't quite decide.  Only then do I start to feel the urge to move and warn the boys.  The largest dragon stops in front of me outside the glass and faces me speaking to me in Irish.  I completely understand him when he tells me that . . . .  (I woke up).

I dreamed this last night and woke up to the rain on my roof.  Usually a sound I love.  Today after my dream it seemed foreboding.  I've looked up what the dream could mean and in a nutshell my subconscious is telling me that I need to keep my temper in check or I could loose what I love more than anything.  That if I will let myself let go happiness lies in wait for me but I have to work through my wanting to control my environment.