Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Unpression Has Begun

    If you don't understand the title, please go here:

I suffer from compression


    The Scribe and Hippie didn't come out of the school, so I ran in to get them.  Something was about to change in their lives and I had to tell them as soon as possible.  
    I found them in the Scribe's classroom.  "Hurry kids.  We need to get home.  But on our way, I need to tell you a story."
    "I need to tell you a story, too," the Scribe said.  "It might even be more important than yours."
    I studied her.  "Maybe.  I doubt it, though," I mumbled.
    "She might be right, Mom," the Hippie said.

    We sprinted from the school and none of us said anything for a moment.
    "Mine can wait," the Scribe finally said.  "You go first."
    I nodded.  "Once upon a time, a little boy lived happily.  He was darling and perfect.  Everyone loved him, especially his parents.  But as fate would have it, his parents both died when the boy was very young and the state had to decide who would take him."
    "How terrible," the Hippie said.
    "And sad," the Scribe agreed.
    "Well, the boy had a very fun aunt and a kind uncle.  Neither of them were married, but they had good jobs.  They both always wanted a boy and so they each begged the judge to give them the child.  After a few meetings, the judge decided to give the boy to his aunt because she was a woman.
    "Things didn't go as they hoped, though.  At first the aunt gave her nephew all of the love in the world.  She spent every moment with him, playing and laughing.  But soon she forgot about him and delved into her work instead.  Sometimes he would get fed late, or not at all.  She hardly spent time with him.  Often he found himself sad and lonely, until the judge found out and made the aunt come talk to him.
    "The aunt was reprimanded.  The judge told her to feed the child on time and give him attention.  She really did mean well, and she changed for a while, then things got even worse than before, and a whole week went by without her even giving him an ounce of attention.
    "The judge finally called the aunt and boy into his court.  The uncle was there, too, and he had proof of how much he loved the little boy.  He also had proof that he would spend time with the child every day, and feed him fancy foods and delicious desserts--even take him on trips.  The judge knew beyond anything, the uncle meant what he said."
    I turned to my girls at this point.  "If you were that judge, what would you do?"
    The Hippie answered first.  "Well, I don't want to be a nasty, old judge, but if I switched places with that little boy, I'd run far away from that aunt until I was at my uncle's house."
    "If I was the judge," the Scribe said," I'd give the boy to the uncle, then I'd tell the aunt how terrible she'd been and say she shouldn't have children."
    I took a deep breath and tapped the wheel.  "I'm glad to hear you say that; it means I made the right choice.  Kids, this conversation was about the dog."
    They gasped.
    "No.  NO!  We didn't know this was about her.  We wouldn't have said all that stuff . . ." the Scribe faltered.  "We wouldn't have been so harsh . . . if we knew it was about us."
    "No matter who it's about, right is right." 
    "How you said the aunt didn't spend time with the boy for a whole week . . . that was about us, too.  Wasn't it?" the Hippie asked.
    I nodded.  "You wanted a dog, but you don't spend time with her.  She's cold and alone outside.  I kept telling you that if you didn't spend more time with her AND feed her when I told you too, that we'd have to give her away."
    "But we did play with her . . . once in a while."
    "Once a week isn't enough.  That's no life for a dog.  She's a husky, girls.  She needs to run and play. She needs a family who is right for her needs, and we're not it."
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    I started crying because it was hard.  I wouldn't let my girls see my tears, though.  So, I tried thinking of happy things, like the fancy car parked by our house, and the fact that the couple who stepped from it had come to buy our dog.
    The newlywed couple had a male husky.  He obeyed and seemed very well-trained.  After I greeted them and let Luna (our dog) out, she was so wild that I was embarrassed.
    "I just don't have the time to train her.  My husband works A LOT, and raising four kids is enough without adding a dog to the mix."
    Luna ran up to the male and they got along, instantly sniffing and brushing against each other.
    It still stung letting our puppy go, even though we knew it was the right thing.
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    I cried when they left.  The Scribe and Hippie didn't seem as shook up as I'd expected.  And instead of me comforting them, my girls comforted me.
   "Now I know what you were saying," the Hippie said.  "They are better for Luna."
    "Yeah, and look at the bright side," the Scribe said.  "Our baby just grew up and got married.  Sure we'll never talk to her again, but it's sorta romantic."
    We laughed after that.  We went out selling girl scout cookies to take our minds off of things.  We all went out selling them for two hours--those kids are hard workers.
    It wasn't until we got home that the Scribe decided to tell me her news.
    "I had to go to the principal's office today," the Scribe said.
    "Why?"  I stared at her blankly.
    "It was terrible.  They talked about the police and social services.  I was in there for two hours."
    "What?!"
    She looked nervous just talking about social services.  One of my good friends is a social worker, so the Scribe knows all about what they do.
    "Tell me everything," I said, and we sat down for a very long talk.  The whole time I kept thinking how mad I was that the principal interrogated my child, and didn't think it was necessary to call me.

    To be continued tomorrow . . .   

31 comments:

  1. Aww...you got rid of your puppy. :-( I hated giving away my dogs puppies after having taken care of them for months. It's never easy.

    Social services?!?! What?!?!

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  2. It is so sad to have to do those things, but in the long run you did the right thing. Our fur babies need love and attention and sometimes we are only a stop along the way in their lives.

    As for the school, I would be livid; which I am sure you are. Isn't there some sort of law against that? Momma bear has come out of hybernation. I can't wait to hear what their justification is.

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  3. i told Emily... - she said "Oh not Luna -I would have gone over and played with her"

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  4. I think that was an amazingly mature decision. I've had to do that before, when circumstances forced me to live somewhere my Alsatian/Rotty mix had no room to run.

    Anyway - I love your kids. They dealt with it well and obviously love you to death.

    As for the school - how can you make us wait until tomorrow? I already want to punch them for you!

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  5. Awful having to give away your pup, but at least you found her a good home where it sounds like she'll get lots of attention. The principal's office thing sounds distrubing to say the least.

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  6. You gotta do what ya gotta do. I'm thinking about the same thing for our dog..hmmm. But, more importantly, I wanna know why the school is being sketchy. Guess I'll have to wait..:(

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  7. Sorry to hear it, but it sounds like the right choice for Luna. Hopefully she'll be happy and at least she'll have another dog to play with.

    One of our cats is like that. We took her from a relative, who pretty much kept her in one room all the time. She's much happier now...although she acts like she owns the place. But she's a cat so what do you expect.

    Dog training can be difficult, especially depending on the dog. Our Newfie mix was in a training class and was basically given a "pity pass" just to get rid of us, the trainer at the school essentially declared her untrainable. Oh well. She's still a good dog. :)

    Oh and another "to be continued". You're killing me here! :)

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  8. Great story. Sorry about the dog. Waiting patiently for tomorrow....

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  9. Dear Elisa,
    You are such a fine mother. It seems to me that you handled this so well. Dogs are such social creatures and if they're not getting attention they pine for it. The story you told the Hippie and the Scribe really worked well. They got it!!! Congratulations.

    I hope you are feeling better now and that the illness has fled the premises!

    Peace.

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  10. I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy. I can't even imagine.

    Social Services?! What would the principal have to say to your daughter?!

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  11. Sorry about having to give the puppy away. As always you leave us hanging.

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  12. You are wonderful to give your kids the story first. If parents did that more often, things would be so much less traumatizing for kids as they would actually understand 'why'. I'm sorry you had to get rid of Luna but I like the thought of her getting married and going away. That's adorable!

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  13. It would seem that your girls are smarter than their principal. You talked to them & they understood why it was necessary to do what you had to do with Luna. Now, if you could only talk things out with the principal.......

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  14. That sucks about the dog, but what the hell happened at school?!?!?!

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  15. I didn't see that coming, really nicely told.

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  16. awww, how sad :( but I admire how you always come up with best solutions and ideas for your kids! That's something not all of us can do! :)

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  17. I am sorry about Luna. Timing is everything I guess and maybe she is happy where she is. I wish I could come give you a hug but since your not well I'm sending you an E hug. Love ya

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  18. It's hard to know when kids are old enough to have a pet and be responsible for it, but it was the best for Luna. *sniff sniff* I love how you told them the story first.

    On the edge of my seat...in the principal's office...

    Hope you're feeling better.

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  19. Oh, and I got the book!!! (Posted about it on my blog.) So glad I won!!
    You surprised me with the CD, too. You are just too sweet! :)

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  20. Thank you so much for your heart warming comment onmy chicken post; glad I made you laugh though you made me cry with the excerpt about the lost baby. Very poignant.
    Anyway, a delight to be followed by a fellow writer. Stay in touch!

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  21. My mom got a puppy and was told he was a beagle. It turns out Rufus was a husky. He was so sweet, but we didn't have the room he needed to run. We found a family with property and they took him in. My mom still hasn't lived that mistake down. Still, it was sad to see Rufus go.

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  22. yep. our options are few in these situations. you do the best you can. that's all we can do.

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  23. You made the right choice for what it's worth. I have been in the same situation, it's hard, but right.

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  24. Your kids are so smart, and how clever of you to give them that perfect story. You are a superparent! I can just see you now twirling around like Wonder Woman into your perfect Mom super outfit and your lasso of truth;) Can't wait for the conclusion...I hope it's not bad!

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  25. First off, way to hit me with a bombshell like that at the end and leave me hanging, I will be emailing you shortly!
    Next, VERY clever way to explain things to your girls!
    I seriously need your parenting advice, again, emailing you shortly.
    Lastly, I know how hard it was for you to give up lovely Luna, I have had to do the same thing in the past and while it might always sting, you did what was right for LUNA and not for yourself which makes you as awesome as me and why I love you!

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  26. Bummer about the dog, but it is true - pets need lots of love and care. To be honest, I forgot that you had one. You rarely mentioned her in your posts. At least the girls understood why you had to give the dog away :)

    Um, social services? Really? That worries me. Looking forward to that tomorrow.

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  27. I'm glad your dog was able to find a kind home! I love your story to help break the news to the kids. You are so brilliant!

    I can't wait to see what the story tomorrow is about. Normally if my kid has to be seen by the principal, I'm made aware of it, and if I'm not, I'd have a fit in the Principal's office!

    JadeLouise Designs

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  28. Love the story. plz keep it up :)

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  29. DAHHHH!!!!!! what happens next!?!?!? ohmygoodness! it IS tomorrow... let's see..

    ((by the way, i cried! i couldn't imagine my puppies going to live elsewhere! but luna is gorgeous, and it sounds like you found the perfect place for her!))

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  30. Yes, you made the correct decision regarding the dog, but know in the future if you ever decide to get a dog again, the dog will be YOUR responsibility. Kids that age are too young to be responsible for a dog. Furthermore, a dog is a pack animal and needs to live in the house with his family, not out in a yard. I never leave my boys in the yard longer than they want to be there. It's also much easier to train a dog who is with you all the time.

    Love,
    Janie

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  31. What wisdom you and the girls showed. The dog needed more care, not just love. Beautiful dog!

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