Here's a post I started nearly 3 weeks ago: I never finished it, probably got interrupted in the middle of it and then only now was able to come back to it. I'm going to post it as is and then write a follow-up to it right away to explain how things turned out....here goes (starts next paragraph!)
I'll just have to call it "The Summer of Not Blogging"......ah well, come Fall it'll be easier.....
So I'm sitting here in my family room listening to the sounds of ten, that's right, TEN, newborn puppies yippin' and yappin' in the little plastic pool where their mommy dog gave birth. Actually she started giving birth outside, literally delivered one right on the driveway, before we grabbed her and the new pup and brought her inside to finish off. It was the most umcomplicated delivery I've ever seen and makes me wish I was a dog, not a human. They seem to have it pretty easy!
I hate to describe puppies as collateral, or as a just some "object", as opposed to a cute, cuddly little pet, but truly, these are my son's ticket to school this year! After two ultrasounds and an x-ray, we were told she might have as many as 8, but the x-ray showed only 6. We never guessed 10! In order to make his investment back from the initial purchase of the dog, as well as cover all his costs for food, vet visits, etc., she had to have at least 3. Then, we hoped for at least 3 more. Anything above 6 was pure bonus and actually was considered profit. When the tenth pup popped out, we started clapping!
This has been such a great veterinary experience for our son as well, who longs to get into vet school one day. He had to help with the delivery, get the puppies on the mom (I guess it isn't as natural as cats), make sure they were breathing, resuscitate more than one, feed one of the pups all through the night for two nights in a row now, get the mother on an iv drip because she was dehydrated.....oh my goodness, it has been so draining for him! But, through the whole experience he has been a pro and it just continues to confirm his desire to go into animal care in some form one day. Now we just have to pray that we'll be able to sell these pups or we'll be stuck with a whole bunch of doggies!
She was bred with a gorgeous rough collie, named Dragon (great name), who was a blue merle. That simply describes the colour pattern of his fur which is silver and blue in colour. The pups are half sable coloured (like Lassie) and half blue merle with one black and white one (who knows where that came from, but also beautiful!) The kids all sit in the birthing pool with the puppies around the clock (hey, I just thought about that...I had a kid in a pool, too! Not that different from a dog!). We are heading away for a week to our friends' trailer and they will be sad to go and miss being around them.
Speaking of trailer, I did write about getting away for a "vacation" this summer. I knew going up to my friend's trailer was an option, but I just couldn't figure out how it would work. Last year we went up to her camp and we stayed in their second "extra" trailer. This year the extra trailer was moldy and nothing was working electrically so it wouldn't work. We looked into renting another trailer or staying in what they call "apartments" or "motels", even tenting, but it was all so expensive, we couldn't get our heads around it. My friend and I committed it to prayer, but I was quite certain it wasn't going to work out. Even though my kids were so determined to go and had a 45 minute session one morning on why they love going so much, I still told my friend who owns the trailer, "Sorry, I don't think we can come up." She was shocked! Why wouldn't I go? What could she do to make sure we got up there? I said, "I need a place to stay....for free!" She immediately said, "Stay in our trailer, with us!" Uh, no. I explained to her there was NO WAY I would be doing that. This friend is truly the best. There is nothing I can ever do or say to offend her, so I knew she wasn't going to take that the wrong way! I simply explained that I need to have a somewhat decent sleep and that sleeping with 12 people, 10 of whom are kids, in bunk beds, on floors, surrounded by noise and mosquitoes, was just not fun for me. I guaranteed I would be miserable and grumpy and that it was not going to work. I just needed a little space to myself IF POSSIBLE. She immediately offered her "master bedroom" in the back of the trailer. I could sleep there with my two younger ones if necessary. There was no way I was going to take her room. I'm not that mean. But she insisted saying that she can sleep anywhere. She isn't quite as selfish as I am, I suppose. In the last year of going from house to house, she and her kids have learned to sleep on floors, couches, tables, whatever. I have never been able to do that well and I suffer from sleeplessness all night if I get woken up or have to sleep like that. Maybe one day I'll be able to, but for now...no way. She convinced me to take her offer, so suddenly I found myself committed. My kids were thrilled! They were really going on "vacation"!
For me, it will be more of a working vacation. My friend won't even be around much. I'm actually going as her mother's helper. She'll be working while I watch her kids. Normally her teenage daughters watch their siblings while she works, but that has been hard on them, so I'm giving them a bit of a break by coming up, cooking, cleaning, etc. It will be a nice change of pace though for everyone. I still feel in a strange way that it is an answer to prayer. We get to getaway (though I'm only taking 5 kids and no husband). It is for "free". I didn't have to rent a cabin. It's a bit of a surprise to me that we were able to make it work. Will I feel rested once I come back? I doubt it...12 people, most of whom are kids under 16 years old, in one small trailer? That will hardly be restful, but who needs rest when there's coffee?! But for my kids, it is an all-out miracle. They never expected it to work. They started packing immediately. My one son has been carrying his backpack around for days and days. They are so excited. So I do thank the Lord for His goodness to my kids and how He is blessing them this summer in this way.
It is a strange blessing to my husband as well. He has to prep for the Fall at the college and having us away will help him focus on that. The older kids will be able to help with puppies and just have a nice quiet week without crazy kids everywhere. Our house has had 17 people in it for over a week so they'll enjoy the break.
I had written that God is our vacation planner. He really is. I never expected this to work. I had tried and tried, but knew it was really impossible. I had looked at every possible angle, never once considering staying in her trailer with them. But it all worked out and off we go.....! Vacation request confirmed and booked!
No comments:
Post a Comment