Just another afternoon

So....you're almost 35 weeks pregnant and have a "bad back." Every step is a struggle and just plain hurts. You finally manage to get your protesting toddler into his car seat to go pick up your kiddos from school. Then he falls asleep for 5 minutes on the way to school, since he doesn't nap any longer. You get there and must then carry in 29 lbs. of dead weight across the parking lot to the doors since your child's school has no parent pick up line and the close spaces have been taken up by those who don't have young children to bring with them. You get inside and your toddler wakes up crying, in a horrible mood, and then tries to run off down the hallway into the school bldg. You manage to snag the back of his shirt (a small miracle since you certainly cannot chase him!) and then get his arm when he decides to drop to the floor in a full-blown 2-year-old tantrum. Since people need to walk through the hallway, you force your very pregnant belly and bad back to bend over and lift your 29 lb., screaming, flailing child out of the floor. You take several hard kicks to the stomach and then hold back the tears from the pain as you carry your wild child back to the designated waiting area in the cafeteria. As soon as you attempt to sit down, he tries to run again. So you pick him up and try your best to distract and calm him. After a few rounds of this, one of your children FINALLY shows up. You then go outside to wait for your other child to get off the bus from the other school. Your escape-crazed toddler decides to run as fast as he can toward the bus loop because he wants to get on one of the busses. He loves anything with wheels! You are very thankful for your 8-year-old daughter since she tries to retrieve your toddler and help her mother who is hobbling along behind her. She manages to slow him down but is no match for his screaming and protesting. You catch up to them both and pick up your once-again flailing toddler. FINALLY your other child appears and you can leave! But it's a long walk to your vehicle with a toddler in tantrum mode. You can't set him down because there are cars coming and going and you know he will run. By the time you reach your vehicle, you are sweating like a mouse at a cat convention and are in too much pain to care about the stares you're getting from everyone passing by. You perform a WWF wrestling move to get your toddler into his car seat because that it THE LAST place he wants to be. You drag yourself into the driver's seat and leave school, breathing like you just climbed Mt. Everest. Your older children start to argue and you tell them if they ever want to watch another minute of TV in their lives, they better not say another word. You get 5 minutes down the road and then realize....your gas tank is on empty. You pull off, turn your vehicle around, and pray that God helps you make it back to the gas station. Amazingly, you make it to the gas station, send up a word of thanks, and turn to tell your two older children.....tomorrow...you're riding the BUS!

Meet Gizmo!

Little Gizmo has quite a story of survival! He was born to a stray that visits our garage, about 4 weeks ago.  She had four kittens, but one was stillborn. A week or so later, two of the others got a serious upper resp. infection and died. The very protective momma cat would not allow me to get near her to take away the kittens that had passed. Sadly, I can relate to her reluctance to give up her babies, even in death. It broke my heart to see her cuddling with those two kittens, and hovering over them as any protective mother would. Little Gizmo was the smallest of the litter. Suddenly, he no longer heard the cries of his siblings. He stayed close to his mother and he too still tried to cuddle his deceased siblings, desperate for warmth and familiarity. Finally, after two days momma cat seemed to understand that her babies were gone. I was able to take the two kittens away for burial. Momma cat temporarily seemed to want nothing to do with little Gizmo. I was afraid I would be bottle-feeding a tiny kitten, round the clock. Thankfully, Gizmo's mother welcomed him back and has been taking excellent care of him ever since. I check on Gizmo throughout the day, every day. Gizmo and his mother have a nice warm area with a heat lamp in the garage, but I still worry that they might be cold. So, the girls and I bring Gizmo inside for brief visits, to get him used to being handled and to socialize with other cats. He is still so small but such an adorable little survivor! Gizmo needs a few more weeks with momma cat before being adopted, but we are proceeding with the process of trying to find the right home for him. Hopefully, once he is weaned, we will be able to get his mother to the low-cost spay/neuter clinic.

If you are interested in giving little Gizmo a loving, forever home, let me know. This little guy has been through a lot. He is a fighter and a survivor. He deserves a wonderful home!