I'm Done With This Week

You never know what your going to get from week to week in this life. That's what makes it wonderful and sometimes awful.  Early Sunday morning Sophie woke me up to tell me she was thirsty. I directed her to the full glass of water on my night stand, which is a regular fixture for this very reason. She took a drink, then for whatever reason handed it back to me rather than set it back down. I was half asleep and not expecting it and got cold water dumped all over me. It was an omen for how this week would go.

It was not an hour later when Wes discovered that his truck had disappeared from the driveway. My first reaction was to pray that they find it. The old adage "be careful what you pray for" certainly applied. Some punk kids took it out to the desert and beat the crap out of it. After driving it through bushes and trees over bumps and debris, the grand finale was to crash it into an old abandoned couch.  It had a new battery, brand new registration, four relatively new tires, and a full tank of gas which is about $50-$60 these days if you weren't aware. After 15 years it certainly was not in pristine condition. The blue book on it probably didn't even reach four figures, but it ran, and that made it valuable to us. To add insult to injury, the sheriff who handled it took it upon himself to kick us while we were down by calling a tow truck on our dime. It now sits in an impound yard as we battle it out with them on principal. I've lost count of the number of hours consumed on this drama, but it suffices to say it would have been nice if either of the two thugs had ever thought about the impact of their incredibly selfish act. Two final notes on this.. silver lining if you will. The weeks worth of checks were sifted through but all accounted for, and a shout out to AAA. They have been over the top kind and accommodating.  Farewell, our four-wheeled friend.

And in other sad news, our gerbil and beloved pet of three years finally gave up the ghost tonight. I was beginning to think Sandy was immortal for the things she endured and lived to tell about. I would never tolerate cruelty to animals on purpose,  but we have three small children and stuff happens. I'm pretty sure Sandy had a cancerous growth on her for the past several months and had I known how devastated Sophie would be at her passing, I maybe would have considered chemo for her! The boys were pretty indifferent when I told them. In fact they were excited about getting to dig a hole for her before school tomorrow. So I was taken back by Sophie's sobbing when she saw dead Sandy. She's a tender-hearted sweetie and she made me cry too. Part of the reason I believe pets are good for kids is that it gives you the teaching moments to help them understand that everything dies eventually, and it is sad for us but really great for the one that died. It may be time for a puppy.