Dec. 19, 2009 ~ December
Aunt Harriet passed away yesterday. Really, we had lost her some years ago. Cousin called to tell me the news, and said that when he last saw her, she didn't know that he was her son, but she knew that she knew him. Which was some comfort. Her life had not improved from the last time I wrote about her, so in many ways her death was a blessing, a release. Or so we say. But there's just no easy way to lose your mother, especially at Christmastime when the world seems happy-happy. I am sad for my cousins and their loss.
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College Boy, who is no longer in college, was planning to fly home today for Christmas vacation. But the planes aren't flying from Washington, DC. Something about a blizzard. You may have heard about it. Luckily, he got word that his flight had been cancelled long before he left for the airport, so he does not have to spend the day stranded there. The airline arranged for a flight out tomorrow morning, though there will be an additional stop. They were not able to give him a confirmed seat on one segment of that flight, so he MAY be spending some extra time tomorrow at Raleigh/Durham airport. From there he has two more stops. Hope all goes as planned. Though my mom and stepdad both worked for an airline, we knew flying from a whole different perspective. We did not pay to fly, and I have rarely flown since those days. So I'm not familiar with the rules about what happens when bad weather forces flight cancellations. I was pleased to learn that the airline will not be charging Son anything extra to change his flight plans. Really, I had no clue. We are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well tomorrow.
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At twenty-nine, Sugar is our oldest horse. In the past year, she has had what appeared to be several mini-strokes. We were never sure she would survive, and we did not take extraordinary measures to keep her going. Neither did we let her suffer.
This morning I went out to find her on her side, unable to stand, tongue hanging out. She was muddy and cold. Knowing there wasn't much I could do for her, in soft tones I told her she would be okay, one way or another, that she was a wonderful horse, a sweet baby girl, and we loved her. I grabbed a nearby brush and began to brush the mud from her body, rubbing her, hoping to stimulate her circulation and make her warmer. With every brush stroke I thought "We love you!" and hoped she knew that. I petted her a lot. I told her that if she was going to stay with us, she would need to stand up soon, because horses don't live long when they are "down." Down is never good... it messes up their digestive system, muscles, circulatory system, just everything. After brushing every inch of horse that could be brushed, I told her I'd be back in a little while to check on her. A couple of hours later I went out and she was up! As before, she stayed near her stall, unable to move much, but at least she was up and on her feet. I brushed her completely, including the parts I'd been unable to reach before. The other horses came up and wanted brushed, too. We trust each other, these big babies and me. They trust me to be kind, to love them, to never hurt them. In return, I trust them not to step on me, kick me, or knock me down. I thought of this as I was crowded in a corner among 3 good-sized horses. They are so good, so gentle.
I just looked outside a few minutes ago and she was still standing there. I opened the back door and hollered, "We love you, Sugar!" This probably would not be a good idea in the big city, but here on the farm, it's okay to holler to horses if you feel like it. Come to think of it, though, there probably aren't a whole lot of horses in big cities. She has now moved into the other horses' pen and I hope she will be okay now. One of these days she won't get up, but for now, I'm glad when she does.
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Updated to say... Tomorrow morning's flight from Washington has also been cancelled. Again, it's a blessing that he did not get the news when he was at the airport and wind up stuck there. I'm thinking maybe he will be coming home on Monday. Or Tuesday. Which is fine. Just as long as he comes home.
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