Big Lessons from a Little Person

Life has been trying to teach me something for the last (long) while.

I think that I was missing the message, because it finally occurred to me last night. It took the smallest messenger to finally get it across.


Our youngest daughter, Evelyn, is tiny, but mighty. She is mostly quiet, but she definitely knows how to be heard.

Evelyn is preparing for Kindergarten (when did this happen!!), so we have been taking her to various school kinder-prep events. While chatting with her possible future teachers, I have always told them not to be surprised that Evelyn may take charge. She is very in control of her feelings and she expresses them very well. She also likes her quiet space and time..... and will vocally express when that is something she needs at the age of 3.  One teacher in particular expressed how it is wonderful that she knows what she needs, states it and takes it. I kind of laughed it off....

Go to the night before this school event....

We were all in the van and out for some SweetLegs deliveries. 6 people in a van for any amount of time can be hectic. We were going to take a pit stop at Tim Hortons to freshen everyone up and grab a snack.

Well.... Evelyn wasn't going to make it that long. She'd had enough people and noise for the day.

I turned in my seat to look at her and the bottoms of her feet are pressed together,  her thumb and fingers making a circle on each hand, and she is telling me that she needs quiet so she can "0h-om." It took about half a minute for what she was saying to sink in. I giggled with Ken about it, and we tried to quiet the kids so that Evelyn could 'meditate.' We are assuming that she has seen this on a movie and was imitating it. Either way, it calmed her down, and our trip continued on with the calm, sweet voice behind us saying "Oh-om, oh-om, oh-om."


The magnitude of what my daughter was doing didn't hit me until late last night. She did something that very few adults actually do for themselves - myself included.

She recognized that she needed something. In that moment, she needed peace, quiet and recentering. SO SHE DID IT. She didn't wait. She just did it. She took what she needed to be able to continue on.

WOW.

Just WOW.

As adults, we often complicate what we need so much, but it really can be as simple as stopping, doing what we need FOR OURSELVES, and then continuing on. Child-like is not always a bad thing. I think maybe scaling back and learning to be simple would help life significantly.


Last night and today, I just keep looking at her and seeing all the smarts in this little girl. I am going to miss her so much when she starts school. I am also going to enjoy the quiet and, hopefully, learn how to simplify, just as she does.

Sometimes, it's the little ones in life that can teach us a big lesson.

The Cat ..... He Did Come Back!

We have all heard the song.

We have all had it stuck in our head.

It never really meant anything to me, until recently. After we buried our cat. Or what we thought was our cat. 

Apparently, it is a phenomenon that has been going on for many, many years, and it was our turn to experience it! ..... and at a very horrible time!

April 2019 was a rough month for us. We had an amazing puppy for almost a year, but we were having severe, aggressive behaviours happening, which is a huge issue when you have a busy, family-friendly home.  All month, I was super stressed as we waited for the behaviourist to come and work with our Jake. April 29th came and went.... and Jake went with it. We had to make the decision to rehome him.

I cried. I cried a lot. I had lost one of my furbabies. The kids were very quick to remind me that we still had Vinny. 

Don't get me wrong. Vinny is awesome. He is legit one of the coolest cats that I have ever owned. BUT he is not a dog. There is a certain degree of independence that cats have and couldn't care less what you do with yourself, while dogs will just follow you and be your BFF forever.

So, I was bummed, but the kids were looking at the positive. We still have Vinny!

May 1st. Two days after giving Jake up. 

My phone rings shortly after 8 am. It's my sister.

"Please tell me that Vinny is inside!" Shiiiiiiiit. I immediately knew where this was going. 

"He isn't."

I was upset to be told that Vinny was hit and in the middle of the road. Dead.

Follow that phone call up with another from my mom, telling me that my cat is dead in the middle of the road. 

Now, for those of you who say that a cat should be indoors only, let me tell you that I don't agree. Cats are animals, and they are hard to contain, especially with kids going in and out of the house all the time. Vinny, although a cat, has proven to be very careful and has crossed the road by himself for almost 2 years now! He actually does look. He is very happy and very healthy. I'm not ignorant enough to think he will never be run over, but, at the very least, he is living his best cat life possible.

So, I go and tell Ken, quite tearfully, that he needs to go get Vinny off the road. 

"You have got to be kidding me."

Through my tears, I share a laugh with him about the pure irony of the situation. Life had been rough. Of course the cat would die.

He goes and tenderly picks the cat from the road, digs a hole and buries him next to our beloved, passed away dog, Mags - THE BEST DOG EVER.

"Was it Vinny? For sure?"

"Without a doubt."

I cried through much of the day. It was rough. How was I going to tell the kids that their cat was now gone? The thought of breaking their hearts was breaking mine.

It was a couple hours before they would be getting home. My 3 year old (WHEN DID SHE BECOME 3!!) was looking out in the backyard.

"Mom, I see Vinny."

"No, baby, you don't. Vinny is buried."

....... about a minute goes by......

"No, mom. I see Vinny right here."

"No, you don't." I head over to the window. "Vinny is dead. He is buried in the back yard. He....."

I look down out the window, and there is Vinny, perfectly fine and not dirty, staring back up at me.

I have never been so happy to see a pet in my whole life, as I was when I ran down to snuggle Vinny that day. My face hurt from smiling.

... and then the laughter started. Whose cat did we bury??

We still don't know whose cat we buried to this day. We know that it was respectfully and lovingly buried, so we feel good about that....

....definitely not as good as having Vinny alive and home though!

A few days later, I heard "The Cat Came Back" and it finally hit me. I understand the song now. It all makes sense