Stick Horse Cowgirls

At the risk of waxing sentimental and, to some extent tooting my own horn, I am moved today by the concept of mothering.   As I write this, California remains on fire.   Not only are houses destroyed, but people are losing their lives, some of them firefighters who have volunteered, knowing the great risk they face. As I have prayed about this disaster, my heart has turned toward the animals of the burning forests.   We will never know how many have lost their lives in horrible ways. On Facebook yesterday someone posted this photograph by a fireman who was moving through a burned-over area.   It is a picture of a bird’s nest with a clutch of eggs still there intact.   Next to them is the body of their mother.   Instantly it hits one that the mother bird could simply have sailed off, over the fire, to find safety. But she did not.   She would not abandon her babies—still in their shells—to the disaster.   She stood with them, helpless against...

Someone close to me once gathered her two precious children around for a morning devotional and Bible study.  Such a beautiful perfect-family picture.  Her seven-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter were interested, earnest, and in good humor as they started. The lesson was about turning to God for assistance in cleaning up our lives.  Mom spoke to the kids about bad habits and how prayer can enlist the help of God and focus us on our efforts to break them.  “ Think about something you’d like help with this morning.  If you want to share it, fine.  If you are not comfortable with sharing, that’s fine, too.  We all have things in our lives we’d like to change and we need help to do it.  I’ll start .” Mom shared with her kids that she had gained a little weight and that she knew the reason was poor eating habits.  “ I need help from you and from God so I can remember to make good choices in my diet.  I need to learn to eat heal...

I’m not one to gripe about daylight savings time, but when I got home tonight at 6:30, it was pitch black outside.  I live in the woods, so the darkness is deep (I keep meaning to get a night light installed).  Tonight it seemed especially so. It’s not just the blackness, it’s that it feels late, too.  I was amazed that it was only 6:30, and not two or two-and-a-half hours later.  I remember when I used to show horses and wanted to inhibit the growth of their winter coats to keep them show-sleek.  We’d keep lights on in the stable longer at night  in the winter (not all night, but longer) to “fool” their bodies into not growing long hair.   I think the presence or absence of light is interpreted by our bodies as cues.  Well, this early nighttime seems a cue to mine to hit the h ay early! But, not to worry.  I got home to a wonderful meatloaf by MIL!  She knows  it is my favorite, and I never make it.  For some re...

Yesterday I told V a work story that made her remember one of our favorite movies: The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio .  But first, here’s my story: My client was sad, alrigh t, but the most accurate description I can think of is “exhausted.”  She was exhausted as in the really tired sense, but she was  also exhausted in that she had pulled out the stops to save her marriage—exhausted all avenues, as it were.  It was not to be, despite her best efforts. Her problem with her professional, graduate-school-educated husband was prescription drugs.  He was hooked, had been to rehab twice and had, unbeknownst to client, drained their entire financial reserves, which were at one time substantial—all gone now.  Husband was now unemployed and just coming out of rehab for the second time (not cheap) thanks to his parents. Both sides of the family gave her emotional support as she made the hard  decision to divorce.  They were about to lose the house an...

Yes, I’m stuck on childhood memories lately.  I had someone recently share about their family’s discipline practices some decades ago.  It was similar to my own.  We both endured the “pick-your-own-switch” order. It was a day and age when spanking was not frowned-upon—not even given a second thought as to whether  it might be wrong.  I don’t think I was harmed one bit by my mama’s discipline habits.  I admit that there are those of us who probably should not spank their kids because of anger problems, but that was not an issue in my home. My mother would, indeed, use a switch on us, and I recall that the little, skinny ones were the worst—they’d wrap around our legs, making us dance.  Sometimes, there’d be one handy on the top of the refrigerator.  She’s also gotten after us with the fly swatter (which I hated because I imagined those little fly legs c oming off on my own) and, let’s not forget the handy paddles provided by those paddle-ball t...

Yeah, it’s French.  And, yeah, I’m faking it—I can’t speak French, at least not yet, but it’s the phrase that came to mind this morning.  See?  I know a little… I found myself wanting to write.  But about what?  Those of us in Blogdom know that one way to get a post done is to sit at the keyboard and let our fingers do the walking…mine just seemed to take off. I thought about taking off on a comment that Vickie of Sand Flat Farm made on my last post on cussing, no less.  Her point is that we are growing “numb” to things…yes, that’s a post all right.  But this morning I don’t feel like soap box ranting (do I hear a collective sigh of relief?).  Vickie’s inspiration will wait on another day.  No, I think I feel like just reporting.  On life.  When V first dragged me into blogging and we were considering names for our blog, one of the first names my cynical mind came up with was “As if You Care!”   But I find that I do c...

When I was in fourth grade (1961) we left our next-door-to-V home and moved out to the country where I lived until I married.  Immediately upon moving there, “Ginger” was purchased.  She was a tall, gentle  chestnut mare, and she was with me until she died, after my marriage. Ginger was my boon companion.  I rode her all over the countryside with a freedom unheard of in my world today.  It was magical.  I must write about some of the adventures that Ginger and I had.  But that is for another day—my mind is on someone else today. The tasks of feeding Ginger and caring for her (and her several later offspring) fell largely to me, which I did not mind at all.  Part of those duties was seeing to her feet.  And we were fortunate that our farrier, Bud, lived about a half mile down our country road.  When Ginger was in need of shoes, I saddled her up and rode down there.    That experience, too, was magical in a different so...

Son is going on vacation for a week. His plane was scheduled to take off at 6:00 a.m. This meant early rising for us both, as I took him to the airport. In so doing I amazed myself (is "amazed" the right word?). I was able to step back and watch myself doing what I am about to describe. I'm not an idiot...but sometimes I cannot help myself. Here's how our ride to the airport through the early-morning darkness went: Me: " Do you have your driver's license? You know, you'll need that to get on the plane ." Son: " Yes, Mom, it's in my wallet in my back pocket--where it usually is ..." Me: " Now, when you get to the airport, you can just go to the little self-help kiosk and do your e-ticket thing, BUT, if you have trouble--any trouble at all--just ask one of the uniformed attendants to help you ." Son (patiently): " Yes, Mom--remember, I've flown before, okay ?" Me: " Sure. Now, when you go to pick ...

They were, by all accounts a successful couple—not rich success, but happy, church-going and well-employed.  They had all they needed and some to save for old age.  Except for one thing.  They had no children. BB was the leader of a home fellowship group for his church.  He and SS opened their home each week to worship, pray and counsel with fellow church members.  BB was an elder, in leadership and close communion with others in his church’s leadership.  Everyone around them was praying for a child for this wonderful couple. Then BB was hit with a revelation from God:  He had no children because there were so many of God’s children without homes!  He went to SS and told her.  Reluctantly she agreed to take the several-month program of instruction and counseling in order to become eligible to adopt from child protective services.   As they went through the program, SS still had her doubts, but she wanted a child and BB said “ T...

Last night was an “active” meteorological night, as spring nights often are in this state.  I was up just a tad later than usual watching the weather.  We are too far out in the country to have weather sirens.  I am thankful for our television weather coverage. I phoned MIL to ask if she would like to join me—she declined, stalwart that she is.  We missed the tornado activity, it moving through on the opposite side of our city, leaving some devastation in its path.  As I write this, it is early morning and I am only getting a smattering of reports, but it seems that there was damage and perhaps death in some parts of our state.  Every spring’s business here.  Growing up, I used to talk to my California cousins when they came to visit, wondering how they could possibly make through each day when their state was slated to fall off the continent at any moment.  "You’ll be carried off by a tornado before that happens!” was their frequent rej...

Whew!   Let me say it again: Whew!   This week has been a humdinger.  As a family law attorn ey, I feel a bit macabre in saying that my business “has been good” lately, because that means that people are in pain.  However, it has been sooooo busy that it is phenomenal.  I have found myself  going from one conference room to the next, meeting with clients.   What this means, of course, is that all the paperwork needed from those will have to be done this weekend! Yes, people are still getting divorced at alarming numbers (yours truly…), but that’s not what this rant is about.  Before I go full-swing let me say a few “givens,” because I am going to sound somewhat harsh in this post: All babies, regardless of circumstance of birth, are blessings, end of story.  We are happy, happy, happy they are here. Life throws us curves.  Things (pregnancies, included) happen when they are not expected.  They just do, and I get ...