My Sister’s Sister.

My sister.   

There is 11 years between us. We don’t  look alike or dress alike but our love for animals is one of our common bonds.

My sister has dedicated her life to helping animals.  Early on she worked at a “no kill” shelter and most recently  as a Vet Tech at a small veterinary office in her hometown.  She is notorious for scooping up strays off the streets no matter where she is. 

Over the  years she has brought home the sick, the depressed or the helpless newborns without a chance and nursed them all back to health.  She does not think twice about what she does, rather views it as her mission.  Animals are her passion and I love that about her. 

So Saturday morning as I road my bike down Dameron Road and heard the unmistakable cry of a kitten over the barks of three crazy guard dogs, I thought of my sister.  It is because of her that I turned my bike around.  And when I saw the tiny, frail kitten hunkered down in the tall grass on the edge of the cow pasture, it is because of her that I scooped the kitten up and took her home.

  

She was skinny, weak and somewhat stiff; obviously cold from being out all night by herself.  The fur from the top of her head, down her back to the beginning of her tail was flattened, stiff and crunchy with what looked like chewed pieces of hay.  Had she been licked by one of the Angus cows?  I wasn’t sure. 

All the way home I could hear my sister’s voice.  “Just take her to the shelter.  They will spay her and put her up for adoption.”  And so this was my plan. 

Ya.  Except I forgot about them.

An hour after I returned home I found myself in the car with the entire family on our way to the vet.  His assessment is that she is 5 weeks old, weighs just about a pound, dehydrated, slightly anemic from her flea infestation, has a serious roundworm infection, Coccidia and, most disturbing of all, the pads of her paws are burned and peeling.  This would explain the limp and funky walk.

But she is sweet and oh so friendly.  Smart, she uses the litter box already, and now that she has had 24 hours of food, antibiotics and dewormer, she is spunky, feisty and kitten crazy.  Her name is Lily Tigress (because the kids could not agree on a name) and is now a permanent member of our family

I am my sister’s sister with one huge difference.  She has the ability to give up her strays.  I, apparently, do not.

Transitions.

The first day of Kindergarten. A momentous occasion. It’s funny how the majority of us spend the first five years of our children’s lives longing for this very day only to be sad or mystified that the time has gone by so fast.

I have been ready for Andrew to start Kindergarten for awhile now and although we all know he is ready, he has needed some convincing of that. The new, the different, the anticipation of the unknown. These are not his friends. That coupled with mood swings that change with the speed of passing cars can make for meltdowns of epic proportions.

I feel like I have prepared him as much as I could and so I sat on pins and needles this morning waiting to see which mood came thumping down the stairs. To my surprise he was happy as a clam. A happy clam with some very specific ideas on how his first day would start.

He wanted pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes that he would make all by himself because, after all, he is in Kindergarten now and that’s just what Kindergarteners do. He’s certain of it!

He picked out his clothes and dressed himself. Nothing new or out of the ordinary here, with the exception of the long sleeve shirt he chose on this hot and humid mid-August day.

This is what Kindergartener’s wear to school. He is certain of this too. I headed upstairs to pick out a new shirt for him but then had to ask myself; if a long sleeve shirt will get him out the door without Sydney and I carrying him by his limbs, do I really care if I have to treat him for minor heat stroke when we get home? No. Not really.

And as we headed out to begin our walk to school, and he tore out of the garage on his 4-wheeler

I argued that Kindergartener’s usually ride their bicycles or scooters to school. Perhaps he should choose a different mode of transportation. He told me that this Kindergartener is riding his 4-wheeler to school because that’s what he wants to do. So I had to ask myself; if riding the 4-wheeler to school will help him walk through the school doors without causing a scene, do I really care that it may not be sitting out there when I go back to pick him up? No. Not really.

At school we rounded the corner of the blacktop where all the grade school kids are lined up waiting for the doors to open. I retied my running shoes (just in case I needed to make a mad dash out of there) and held my breath as he walked over and got in line.

They walked into the building single file, the door closed behind them and he never looked back. The relief was overwhelming.

And so when the morning came to an end and he appeared in the doorway with this smile on his face,

I realized then that the pancake mess all over the kitchen, the long sleeve shirt on a hot and humid day, and the 4-wheeler that looked very out of place in the bike rack

were independent victories that helped make his transition into Kindergarten that much easier.

Summer’s End.

As summer rapidly draws to an end, Sydney and Andrew hosted an Ice Cream Social/End of Summer Bash.

There was lots of slipping and sliding…

bouncing…

a little competition…

some cheerleading…

winning celebrations…

a few hundred water balloons…

an assembly line of treats and sweets…

and good friends to share the fun.

Goodbye summer….hello first day of school!!!

Innocence.

My sister-in-law, Jennifer, had her baby this weekend.  Baby Eli.

Hello baby Eli.  You are so tiny.  So cute.  So innocent. 

Jennifer is a single mother. 

My father-in-law, Will, was in the delivery room when Eli was born.  He cut the cord.  Sydney saw the pictures during our visit and was in awe. 

This is the conversation we had last night as I tucked her into bed:

“Mom?  I don’t think Baby Eli looks much like a Kunkel.” 

“Well,  I think he has Jenni’s nose but we don’t know what his dad looks like so it is really hard to say.”  I said. 

“What do you mean we don’t know what his dad looks like?  I thought Papa Will was his dad?” she asks. 

“No, no…Papa Will cannot be his dad.  He is Eli’s grandpa just like he is yours.” I correct her.  Then I braced myself for an impromptu conversation about the birds and the bees. 

Instead she says, “Oh.  Well maybe they just have not found a dad for him yet.” 

“Exactly!” I say.  “Goodnight.”

If Linus’ Had a Twin…

 

If Linus had a twin, I’m certain it would be Andrew.  He has a blue blanket….just like the one Linus carries.  And he too drags it on the ground.  I’m sure if one could smell Linus’ blanket, it would smell just like Andrew’s. 

Andrew has a name for his blue blanket.  Bluemines.  Bluemines- a loyal companion, a shoulder to cry on and protection from the monsters hiding under ones bed.  A pillow, when there are none to be had and a tent to hide under when you’ve stolen something from your sister.  Sometimes a hat, a cape,  a belt or even a scarf on cold, rainy days.  A bandage for bruised legs  and broken collar bones.  But never, no never, a blanket for which one uses to keep warm.  There are others for that purpose.

Ya, if Linus had a twin….I’m certain it would be Andrew.