Thursday May 23, 2024
Dear Diary
I woke up at 5:15 am. I prayed my thanksgivings:
- I am grateful for geese. Thank you for their fun personalities.
- I am grateful for clouds. Thank you for a break from the sun.
- I am grateful for feelings. Thank you for the energy they create.
I woke Angel up and let out the chickens, ducks and geese. I went in the house and Christopher wasn’t up yet. I started the tea kettle boiling and went about my morning routine. I let the yorkies out and fed them and Bits. I made Angel waffles for breakfast and we were headed out the door at 6:30 am.
I drove to my bi-weekly pet sitting opportunity. The female dog Sissy’d had her puppies but she hid them well because I couldn’t find them anywhere on the 2 acre property. There are numerous places she could have hidden them. I filled the dogs feeder and petted them. The goats let me pet them, even the mean goat, he is getting used to me. Angel likes to help me and the goats let her pet them too.
After pet sitting, we picked up my grandson Finn and went to riding lessons. Only Angel is doing riding lessons now. I wasn’t enjoying having lessons for myself and I’d rather stand outside the arena and watch. Finn and I were enjoying watching Angel do her lessons when she suddenly decided she was done and got off the horse. It was a short half hour lesson but that was just fine. It gave us extra time to get Finn some breakfast before going to the homeschool co-op. I wasn’t getting Ms. M today because she had an appointment her husband was taking her to, so that gave us extra time as well. Before we left, the kids enjoyed petting Bart the donkey that had been given to the people who do the riding lessons. He was wild when they got him but they’ve been working with him and now he was tame enough to pet. They had been given several wild horses as well and it amazing how calm those horses are now after just a few months. The man that works with the horses and donkey was telling me how he refuses to drug the animals in any way while training them because he needs to see what’s really going on with them in order to change their thinking patterns. I told him I’ve experienced how it works the same way in humans and how much I’ve been able to change my thinking patterns since I quite taking antidepressants years ago. They just made me not feel happy or sad, I just existed. He shared that he used to take antidepressants too and had the same experience. Now that I don’t use marijuana or participate in social drinking either I’ve found I’ve been able to change my thinking patterns at an even deeper level. I absolutely love love love being 100% sober and medication free.
When we got into Rockdale, we stopped at Moon Brew. Finn got a homemade croissant, Angel got a cookie and I got a chia pudding. The kids were really hyper and started running wild around the coffee shop when I was ordering our food. I put an end to that right away with a lecture about not running inside the coffee shop and the reasons why it wasn’t a good idea. They calmed down and we all sat down at a table of their choice and ate our food.
When we arrived at the homeschool co-op, we did not have our regularly scheduled program. The mom’s gathered around and talked about the schedule for next years co-op while the kids played. When I had been in Idaho helping my sister the other moms had decided to change the meeting time of next years co-op from 10 am-12 pm to 9 am-12 pm. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get there at 9 am since Angel’s riding lessons were from 8 am-9 am. I had found out about next years time change last night and when I heard about it, I was fine with us not being able to get there at 9 am and missing the first hour. I knew that everything would be fine. Today though, I went to the bathroom shortly after getting there and when I came out, the other moms had started the meeting without me. Suddenly, I was angry that they didn’t even wait for me. After all, I show up every week except the few times when I’m out town. I’m one of the regulars and they decided to plan everything for next year the 2 weeks that I happened to be in Idaho helping my sister. Then they start our last meeting without waiting for me to come out of the bathroom. I perceived it as I was being pushed out of the group and my input wasn’t important to them. My hurt child self came out and I was thinking about not even going to go to the co-op anymore. Inside my mind I was throwing a tantrum. I moved my chair away from the other moms. After a few minutes, they asked why I was sitting way over there. I said I wouldn’t be going to the co-op next year and I didn’t need to be a part of the meeting. (I’m laughing at my drama as I revisit this in my writing 😂. This is funny stuff 🤣.) I would have left right then but Angel and Finn were having a great time playing with the other kids. I took a few deep breaths and prayed for guidance on healing my inner childhood pain that I was revisiting. I moved my chair back to the group and sat quietly, feeling my feelings fully, breathing with the waves calmly without acting on them. After a few minutes I felt the feelings ease as they released their hold on me. I was asked some questions and I shared my availability with my schedule. The discussion went on and I continued to relax into my breathing, staying calm and centered. By the end of the meeting everyone agreed to have the co-op from 10 am – 1 pm next year and I hadn’t even suggested it, even though it works perfectly with my schedule. Wow!
When we arrived home from the co-op, I greeted Christopher and all the dogs. Christopher said the yorkies has been great while I was gone. Finn was excited to see our new kittens. Angel had named them Flo and Coco. Angel decided that Flo was hers and Finn decided that Coco was his. I told Finn that Coco could be his cat that lives at our house and he was happy about that. The kids played outside with the kittens and I built myself an outdoor fountain in front of the banana hut.
I received a text from a lady I was getting 2 more kittens from saying that she was ready to meet me. I drove to Milano to pick them up and came right back home. The kittens were somewhat wild and had fleas. I gave them a flea bath right away before they came in contact with any of the other animals and of course they weren’t happy about that. I dried them off and set them on the porch with some food. They werent interested in the food and were hissing and spitting at me with their ears back. You could tell they hadn’t been handled much. Angel and Finn noticed that something was going on at the porch and came running over with the Flo and Coco. I put all the kittens together and the wild kittens didn’t seem to mind Flo and Coco. They just didn’t like the humans. I went to get the kittens some water and when I came back only one of the wild kittens was there with Flo and Coco. I asked the kids where the other wild kitten went and they said he ran off into the woods. I looked for him a while but with as wild as he was I figured he would either come back or not. Angel named the one wild kitten Tiger but I called him Feisty. I picked him up and sat down by the picnic table next to Christopher. I held Tiger close to me and petted him. He hissed and growled but didn’t try to get away and seemed to enjoy being petted. The kids played with Flo and Coco around us while Christopher and I chatted.
In the early evening, I put all the kittens together in a crate in the bicycle shed with some food and water. I took a bath and Christopher was starting dinner when I got out. I told him I wasn’t hungry and to not make me anything to eat. He said he had talked to his mom and we needed to bring her something to eat for dinner. I said I would do it since I wasn’t eating. Christopher mom had fallen on Tuesday morning and broke left her arm. His brother is staying with her while she heals and Christopher is bringing her food when she needs it.
I drove the side-x-side to my mother-in-loves house and brought in her food. I asked her how she was doing and she said she was pretty bruised up and in pain but was getting better. I sat and chatted with her for an hour or so and we had a good talk. She is 84 years old but she is still going strong despite her fall and injuries. Her eyes are clear and her mind is sharp. She asked if I would do some cleaning for her. I found a spot on my schedule and I am going to clean her house Monday afternoon. It will be good to spend more time with her and she’ll enjoy having a clean house.
It was after 7 pm when I got home. Christopher showered and we all gathered in the banana hut for story-time. Angel read Hop on Pop and I read one chapter from Stormy, Misty’s Foal. Christopher and the kids all went into the house to sleep, Finn was staying the night. I put the yorkies in their bedtime crate and went to bed. I was too tired to write my blog and I fell asleep right away at around 9 pm.
Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of my life. I dearly appreciate you.
Love,
Victoria
P.S. This blog post was inspired by the Holy Spirit.