SAD story, part II

Seems like the ending of part I was quite enough drama for the evening, but it didn't stop there.  At 1:30 in the morning Nicole called down to our bedroom on the intercom to say that someone was at the door.  That was a chilling feeling!  Dave immediately got out of bed and went to check it out.  (people don't just "pop in" out in the country)

I didn't share with you in part I that the guy with the horses had just gotten them that night.  He was taking them home for the first time.  He had purchased the horse trailer from a woman and she gave him the two horses with it.  

The person at the door was the lady who had just given her horses away that night.  She had gotten a call about what happened and immediately got in her car.  She wanted Dave to bring her out to see Dixie, the deceased horse.  Dave said no, it was the middle of the night and we did have guests at the ranch.  She then asked if she could stay out in the corral with Willow, the healthy horse.  Dave agreed to that.  She was very worried about Willow.  You see the two horses were twins and had been together for 8 years.  In fact this woman had helped birth them, so she was very attached.  Why did she give them away you ask?  She was going through a divorce and had to move and was unable to take them with her.  Needless to say she was very distraught about the whole situation.  She drove to the nearest Safeway in the middle of the night to get first aid supplies for Willow.  Willow did get a few scrapes from the trailer fiasco. Dave decided to give the "trailer guy" a call in the middle of the night to share the news of the original owners arrival.  (it was the least he could do, seeing as though this man had told her where to find us!) In talking to the man Dave found out it was his birthday that very day as well! (how much more can you take?!?!) 

The next morning we all had to leave the ranch to go to work and school.  I went to the corral to let the lady know.  I had to wake her up, she was sleeping in her car.  She cried several times in the course of our conversation.  In fact she thought maybe she heard Dixie crying in the night.  It was the wild pigs though, they were extra active that night I remembered.  I said goodbye and she planned to wait until the guy came with a new trailer to pick up Willow.  

Later that day Dave did get a call saying they had picked up Willow and would be back the next day to take Dixie's body.  We heard that all of them did go to visit Dixie and had a little memorial service for her.  We didn't think the previous owner would want to see Dixie in such bad shape but she needed it for closure.  

The next morning two trucks drove in, one with tall wooden sides around the bed.  After about half an hour they both drove out.  That was Dixies' exit from the ranch and the closing scene to this very strange and sad, yet true, story.  

this is a VERY SAD, but true story

On Thursday, September 4th around 9pm someone randomly showed up at the ranch.  It was a guy that was passing by on the highway pulling a horse trailer. He had been on the road for about 5 hours.  Some people behind him had been trying for at least a mile to flag him down to let him know that something was dragging from the trailer.(we heard this part after the fact) He pulled over to discover that one of the horses in the trailer, he had two inside, was dragging!!!  The floor of the trailer had rotted through and broke!  Cell phones don't work out here so he walked into the ranch and stopped by our house hoping to use the phone.  (the turn out to the ranch is one of the rare stopping points on this end of the highway) He really had no idea what he was going to do.  It just so happens that because we do live on a ranch we have a corral.  Dave offered the use of the corral for the guys healthy horse.  Dave also went out with the man to his truck to help.  Once he got out there to see the situation he said it was not a nice scene.  The horse that had been dragging was extremely injured and needed to be put down.  They drove the truck and trailer into the ranch, put the healthy horse into the corral, then had to put down the other horse right there in the field.  Next they drove the truck to the back field, Dave drove the 4WD Bronco too.  They had to tie a rope around the body of the deceased horse to pull it out of the trailer with the 4WD.  It was going to have to stay out there until it could be disposed of properly.  By this time the kids knew the story of what was going on and were waiting to hear the gunshot.  Thankfully it was quiet enough that all didn't hear it, just Nicole and I.  There were some tears and much explanation was needed on the way things work with horses and injuries.  The man who had the horses drove his truck and broken trailer another hour to his home promising he would be back the next day.

Growing Kids

So tomorrow is Jessica's birthday.  She's turning 11.  I'm not sure how I feel about this.  It does kind of make me shutter when I think 13 is just around the corner and 9 was only a couple years back.  D.J. turns 6 a month from tomorrow.  Then all of my children will be 6 and older.  Very strange!  I always heard this time would come; when they would all be school age.  It feels nice to have a little more breathing room.  Literally.  No more babies crowding my internal organs and pushing my lungs up to my throat!  Even though I do have fond memories of carrying all four of my children for 9 months, each.  There are no more newborn babies laying on my chest after we both fell asleep during feeding time.  I'm not carrying anyone around in my arms anymore and gasping for breath after just having climbed 5 flights of stairs.  (with child still in arms...)  They run off to play and I have moments alone now.  I feel like there is a part of me that I am rediscovering!  But it did tug at my heart a little when I asked D.J. tonight at bedtime if I was still his sweetheart and he answered "it's up to you".  If it WAS just up to me, I'd be his sweetheart forever.  Sadly, it's not only up to me.  He was the one who said those words to me when he was just a little guy, "Mommy, you're my sweetheart".   I may not feel ready to separate from the closeness we once shared but my children are raring to take off and grow.  So I stay rooted and watch from my place as the sun shines and rains flow in order to bring these lives to a place they were intended to go.

Why I started a blog..............

We have had some strange, funny, dramatic, sad, exciting, and happy moments in the life of this family.  Someone recently told me, after sharing with them a rough night we had, "you can't make that stuff up!"  I have also heard several times now that we need to publish these events.  So here I am entering into the world of blogging.  For those of you who engage in the reading of these blog posts, enjoy!  (I am really hoping this turns out to be a cheap form of therapy for me)   

Cheers!