Surprising Fact

Have you discovered a surprising fact about one of your female ancestors? What was it and how did you learn it? How did you feel when you found out?

The most startling revelation for me was when I discovered how my Great Grandma Teareasy Montgomery Adkins died; being kicked in the stomach by a cow during her pregnancy.

I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for her children to have to ride in a covered wagon with their deceased mother all the way back home to Kentucky from Ardmore, Oklahoma, their youngest child, under 3 years old. The pain had to be more than any child could bare and yet they did it for her. All of this, to bring her body home for burial.

I too, lost my mother at a very young age and the pain was immeasurable. But this would have been a pain like no other. When you really stop to think about it; 3 to 4 hours after her death, rigor would have set in and in less than 3 days the smell would have been immense. This was a horror, I would not wish on any child. Yet, they pressed on.  You know they came home to a grieving family and neighbors with lots of questions and then the burial.

As a husband and father, the pain must have been more than he too could bare, at times. What to do and how? They had been together since she was 12 years old.  Now he had to make major sacrifices for his children, for her sake. And he made them. The biggest one was to give their smallest child to her best friend for adoption. I can’t even imagine it.

I’m sure this wasn’t something they thought they would ever have to bare. Together, they had made major plans; selling everything they had to go with their family to Oklahoma, all gone. She would not have wanted that for her family, nor her family for her. Each decision we make effect the whole. But love filters through it all. A family can overcome get tragedy and hopelessness through faith.

We have to allow ourselves, all the time we need as individuals to grieve.  The way we grieve is as individual as we are. But take someone’s hand and let them grieve any way they want to; cry, scream, mope, groan, lay there or whatever they decide to do. Just be there for them and love them through it.

They… threw themselves into the interests of the rest, but each plowed his or her own furrow. Their thoughts, their little passions and hopes and desires, all ran along separate lines. Family life is like this – animated, but collateral. ~ Rose Macaulay

 

A MESSAGE FOR ME

This was sent to me in an email today…

My opinion based upon close observation of sick dogs and cats is that they seldom exhibit pain even though they may be terribly uncomfortable and unhappy. What you are describing to me is a dog that seems to have lost a certain quality of life. Should you keep any pet alive just because there is no pain even though that pet is unable to do the things a dog would naturally do?
The disease your dog has is probably incurable and will gradually get worse. That may mean today your dog feels as good as it ever will; each day will hold less comfort, less playfulness, less ability to function like a dog should. If the dog is having more “bad” days than “good” days, and you are able to stop the poor dog’s discomfort in a painless and respectful manner, why not allow the dog to pass away peacefully?
It is a tough call and everyone has an individual way of handling this crisis. Try to be certain today that no one in the future is sorry for NOT doing something they should have. Likewise, regretting having put a dog to sleep when there may have been “some life” left can weigh very heavy on one’s mind many years later. The thought that “I gave up on him” can be haunting. Talk it out with everyone concerned.
Ask the dog, too. This may sound silly but each individual should spend time alone with the dog in a quiet and private location. Hold and comfort the dog in your arms and talk it over… just the two of you. Then, if you listen to your heart, the answers can become very clear.

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“Don’t forget until too late that the business of life is not business, but living.” ~ B. C. Forbes

 

little changes

can be made without sacrificing who we are.

It is impossible to withhold education from the receptive mind, as it is impossible to force it upon the unreasoning. ~ Agnes Repplier

 

Don’t protect me from consequences,

I need to learn the painful way sometimes.

Most people think of success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process. ~ Roger von Oech

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Failure is a part of every Success story. ~ My Mom

 

A Pet’s Plea

If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep
Then you must do what must be done
For this, the last battle, can’t be won.

You will be sad – I understand
Don’t let your grief then stay your hand
For this day, more than all the rest
Your love and friendship stand the test.

We’ve had so many happy years
What is to come can hold no fears
You’d not want me to suffer, so
When the time comes, please let me go.

I know in time you too will see
It is a kindness you do to me
Although my tail, it’s last has waved
From pain and suffering I’ve been saved.

Don’t grieve that it should be you
Who has decided this thing to do
We’ve been so close, we two these years
Don’t let your heart hold any tears.
~Author Unknown

As we prepare for the loss of little Doc Holiday Dawson, we all share in his life and love for his family. It is important to realize that when the humans (adults and children) are upset, the pet is, too. While difficult, it is important that the family try to lend support and comfort to their animal friend in this last time of need. Seeing their humans upset may upset the pet, too.

Our pets are as much a part of our daily lives as our family and friends, we need to show them, all the love and compassion they have afforded us.

Doc Holiday, go in peace.

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God asks no man whether he will accept life. That is not the choice. You must take it. The only question is how. ~ HENRY WARD BEECHER

 

Grief

Never allow a friend to grieve alone.

 

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Friendship improves happiness and abates misery by doubling our joy and dividing our grief. ~ Joseph Addison