Some days are harder than others.
SOME days SUCK. Seriously.
Yesterday was one of THOSE days.
I woke from a WHOLE 3 hours of sleep, after work on Wed. night, and did the same thing I do every morning.
I rubbed my eyes and pulled back the curtain to let the morning sun in.
Then I saw it.
The slaughter.
The chicken coop door was wide open and the inside of the coop was DESTROYED. The nesting boxes were on the floor, the water dumped over, the chicken food everywhere…
and then I saw the chickens.
I stood there shocked with my mouth WIDE OPEN.
They were all over the yard. The feathers told the story of a struggle.
A struggle that went on during the night under cover of moonlight.
A struggle that ended in the loss of 6 chickens.
The dog had gotten into the coop….or the kids left it open.
It
does
not
matter
HOW
it
happened.
What matters is THAT it happened.
I screamed for Jay and walked around the yard searching for a sign of life.
any sign.
1,2,3,4.
4 dead.
1,2…..hurt badly.
That is 6 accounted for.
I ran around the yard crying and apologizing to my sweet hens.
All the while the kids were starting to flow out of the house and realize what was happening…It was a nightmare.
We all loved the chickens.
We raised them from chicks and had become attatched to them.
But- There was 1 missing….the pajama chicken.
PJ Puff was nowhere to be found….
I roamed the yard CALLING for her, as if she would come to me BECAUSE I was calling her.
She didn’t. But… I JOYFULLY found her DEEPLY nestled INTO a palm bush. So deep that the dog(s) didn’t get to her. She is probably TRAUMATIZED in chicken terms ..for sure.
But ALIVE…and we feel BLESSED for that.
Jason quickly buried the 4 chickens that didn’t make it and we scooped up the 2 who were obviously hurt and made them a bed of hay in the coop. We laid them there and prayed for the best.
It was a terrible start to what would be an even WEIRDER day.
Jay went to work and I got the girls ready for dance camp…because life oddly moves on without a hitch.
I was so mad at the dog(s) that I seriously wanted to just give the puppy away.
SHE was the one who chased the chickens.
SHE was the one who sat at the guinea pigs cage and DROOLED.
SHE was the one who was a PUPPY. UGH.
SHE was the one.
I couldn’t help but think that MAYBE, just maybe …she wasn’t a good fit.
Maybe she wasn’t the right puppy for us. I was PISSED. We were down to 1 hen and 1 guinea pig.
PISSED. MAD. FURIOUS. You can’t even imagine.
I mentioned it to Zeek.
THAT DID NOT GO WELL.
He was devastated. He didn’t understand. I tried to explain the whole”not fitting in” thing. No. Didn’t work. He was depressed.
I tried to talk him thru it. I WANT him to feel the way I feel. I WANT him to understand and just be OK.
Apparently….That is not how it works.
He was SAD.
This part of parenting SUCKS.
But the day moved on…
again…without a hitch.
The girls were picked up by a friend we carpool with and I got ready for a day PREVIOUSLY planned.
A fun filled day of beach and splashpark shenanigans.
We HAD BEEN excited.
So I decided that we needed to KEEP OUR PLANS and pick up the girls from camp and head to the beach.
The kids needed a minute to NOT THINK about the chickens.
The kids needed a minute to NOT THINK about losing their dog.
The kids NEEDED a MINUTE to soak up the sun, feel the sand in their toes and the water splash against their skin.
Who was I kidding? I needed a minute.
So we did just that.
We gave thanks in the midst of CHAOS.
We appreciated the LIFE we have. The 1 hen that was spared and the LOVE, FRIENDS, and FAMILY that surrounds us.
We talked and talked …all day.
We talked about the circle of life and how JAH is in control…even when it feels like he is not.
AND yesterday…IT DID NOT.
We talked about how life is HARD and how sometimes we have to find the blessings….even when they seem to be hidden…in plain sight.
All day yesterday I BEGGED for the wisdom to help these kids understand.
It was a hard day.
Harder than most.
And then we headed home.
I loaded up the 6 kids and started to drive home.
And then our day got WEIRDER.
On the way home I got pulled over.
Seriously?
All the while Shasha is in the background crying saying, “Mom….youre getting PULLED OVER. MOM!!!!”
I KNOW she thought she was going to some kiddie jail.
Seriously.
He came up on me and said, “Maam…DO you have your DL?”
“Yes ..Here it is.”
He looked at it and said, “Do you have a white jeep?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me weird and said…"”I just pulled over your husband. RIGHT BEFORE YOU.”
Seriously?
How weird is that.
I looked at him and told him that he had NO IDEA how weird my day was….he didn’t ask.
The SILVER LINING was the fact that he let us both off with WARNINGS.
Seriously???
What a crazy, no good, weird day…..
I went to sleep last night PRAYING that tomorrow would be better than today. ..and feeling more like a STUDENT of life than ever.
3 comments:
That was crazy, weird day! We lost all 25 chickens we had raised when a neighbor dog dug under the fence while we were out. Not fun at all to see your babies slaughtered (we did get more, which are now 3 yrs old.) So sorry for your sucky (is that a word?)day, but praying for peace, love and light for you.
I understand the horror of the chicken deaths. I'm sorry you all had to experience that. I grew up on a farm and lost quite a few chickens to our dog, Ginger, when she was young. My Dad (ask Jason how big he is) had to whip the dog with a belt after several incidents of her getting chickens and FINALLY she would not bother them. We also lost some to hawks. Some dogs (depends on the breed) will never stop. A bird is a bird. You are wise to consider giving Doggy away, or put an electric fence. Watch dog for biting. Some dogs once they taste blood will bite humans. Depends on your puppy's breed and age. Another dog we had ate my 4H Dairy calf. Imagine finding THAT. That was the same dog that later bit Jeff. My father hauled that dog off and shot him.
I hope you get more chickens and your surviving hen does ok. What a crazy day, but you did so well.
Julie (in Lake City)
Miss you
Dad
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