Monday, May 19, 2008

"Come see what I found at the cemetary."

My husband called me just after dark with this cryptic message.
"What did you find?" I asked expecting some sort of punchline or something kind of gross.
"It's weird. I just don't know what to make of it." He'd been patrolling the small town for just a few hours into his shift.
I tried for more information. "What is it? Do I want to see it?"
"I don't know if you do or not. It's very odd. I'm not sure if it was something just left here on purpose, or what."
I got in the van and headed that direction. I called him partway there to make sure he was still at the cemetary. There was no way I was going to arrive there all by myself. Especially after such a strange call from him and especially with the moon full the way it was. Beautiful... when you're not on your way to a cemetary to see something so odd that your policeman-hubby is not sure about it. What could someone find at a cemetary? The possibilities are endless. One thought I had was, "Did someone write my hubby's or another cop's name on a tombstone as a threat?" Why yes, I do read mysteries. How did you guess?
About five miles away it dawned on me that it was probably a kitten. I called him again and he confirmed that "Whatever it is, it moves."
I pulled up beside him and he talked me into moving my van a little farther away from his patrol car so that we could both actually open our doors to get out. I walked to his side of the car and he had his tazer out, "Did you hear that?" I did hear an odd noise... Then I heard several pitiful mewing noises coming from the direction of his lap. 4 little grayish kittens were huddled together meowing loudly. He'd found them next to a bag and thinks they were brought there in the bag and dumped. They wouldn't stray far from the bag.
So now the bag and four little kittens are upstairs in my foster daughters' room. I left them alone for five minutes and when I came back the girls were telling me what the kittens' names were. "No, Don't EVEN name them! They are cat 1, cat 2, cat 3, and cat 4." I already have them listed on FreeCycle.... but we will probably keep one.... or two. But NOT all four! Unless noone else wants them. Or if we think it might be too hard on the little guys to separate them... No, only 1! Ok, or two.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Almost Summer "Break"

When I was an elementary teacher I looked forward to summer break because it was a break... from a classroom of kids. Now I'm looking forward to summer break because I'll have a house full of kids for a few months. Crazy. Last night dh and I went to a Foster Care Appreciation Dinner. We dropped the kiddos off at a playland (babysitting was provided) and spent 3 hours with each other, other grown ups, good food, and fun entertainment. It was lovely. But when we picked up our 6 crazy kids and started walking toward our mini-van, I was filled with happiness. The kids were bubbly and bouncing around telling us tales of all their fun and the friends they met. I had to stop for just a moment and reflect on just how much I love our large family. I love peace and quiet, but I truly enjoy our chaotic-at-times family.
On Mother's Day at a restaraunt the kids were doing a word search based on the book of Esther. They came to the word "bow." T-bird, age 5, decided to demonstrate to all of us what that word meant. He took a bow. He's a little guy and those tables at Texas Road House are tall. Whack! Only his pride was hurt, and not too badly because when he saw how funny it was to all of us, he was ready to do it again.