Monday, August 13, 2007

Saved By A Pig!

My two older girls are at the stage in their lives where everything must be "fair". If Oldest gets one, Middle gets one, too. If Middle does something, Oldest has to do it, too. So much of the day I am playing the referee and making sure that things are fair. I try to tell them that not everything in life is fair and in fact, can be downright unfair, but in their little world, they don't understand that.

We went out one day and passed a pond with a large assortment of water fowl-- ducks and geese, swans and their babies. Oldest could see it from her window, but Middle could not. Lots of whining and pouting ensued and I was unable to turn around for Middle to see, too. Tears started rolling down her face and the constant drone of a whine emitted from her mouth. My hearing aid sits behind my right ear, picking up every sound that the girls make in the back seats and amplifies it. This droning whine is extremely irritating to me and it's all I can do not to turn off my hearing aid. I try to think of another area that we can drive by that has a bunch of animals, but nothing comes to mind. I reach back and pat Middle on the knee and tell her that we can see other animals another time, but she is inconsolable and her droning whine only gets louder.

I spot a yard sale and we pull into the drive. I decide to let everyone out so that Middle can try to compose herself and maybe treat her to a small toy or something that catches her fancy. No such luck, it's a small sale and not much to look at. I was just getting ready to put the girls back into their car seats when I happen to look back at Hubby and he is waving at me to come over. There is a silver lining after all!!! They have a pot-bellied pig!! I quickly get Middle back out of her car seat and tell her to run to Daddy. All the girls are full of smiles as they watch Mr. Pig shuffle over and feed him bits of food. They got to pet him and feel his coarse hair, and feel his snout snuffle over their hands. Then the owner pulls out a kitten from the garage and asked if we were interested in taking it home. *gasp!* Now anyone that knows me, knows I have a weak spot for kittens! Oh! It was the cutest little thing, black with white bits, a white face and a black nose, and if it wasn't for the 7 we already have at home, I would have snatched that kitten so fast and gobbled him up! I managed to restrain myself and let each girl pet the kitten before I handed him back to the owners with regrets.


Here is Mr. Pig.

Getting back into the car after our little girls got to see the pig and the kitten was much better. No more droning whine and unhappy tears, and we went off on our merry way again.

11 comments:

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Seven cats! Wow, I'm impressed...

LaRonda said...

The things we do for our children...

You're a good Mama.

~ LaRonda

jenny said...

M&M-- 2 are strays that have adopted us and the rest are ours. I wrote about our cats here, if you are interested in reading it: http://mountainmama-jenny.blogspot.com/2007/05/cat-round-up.html

Laronda-- so true.. Don't want to see them cry, but don't want to spoil them either. Thanks!

DJ Kirkby said...

Seven cats, how lovely. You probably need them for mousing as well as for keeping your blood pressure down. I would love more but we've got two people in this house who are allergic to them so I think I am lucky to have two cats!

Krissie said...

Aaaah, the Weird Cat Lady returns! lol
Anyway, the Oldest saw the animals and got to pet the pig. Still unfair to the Middle one... ;)

D-HOR said...

Cool Pig Pic!! Aww, you're such a nice mom. :)

I really *heart* this blog. You take me from beautiful family moments to frightening purple vaginas all within a week. (holy SHIT I don't know how I missed THAT post but damn, holy crap damn! (and thanx cuz I didn't know that and if my mexican knocks me up it would have scared the bejeezuz out of me) )

Elsie Button said...

oh how lovely! pigs are so great as well! we almost bought a couple of pot-bellied pigs until we realised they would completley wreck our garden. and you have 7 cats! my goodness me!

lady macleod said...

great story, cute pig, SEVEN CATS!?

jenny said...

Dj-- If it was up to me, the strays would be dropped off at the shelter (they are full and any animals dropped off would result in being put to sleep, which is why they are still here) and we would be left with 5. As much as I love our cats, I would never have more than 2 in the future. Too much litter and cat food expenses on a limited budget.

Krissie-- Well Middle didnt figure that out yet, so Shhh! :o)

Lindy-- I was waiting for you to comment on Sex Ed 101, but you never did. I don't know how you missed that one either!! But glad you saw it and laughed! It's all true, though!!

Elsie-- Cute pigs, but not for me! I'll stick with the cats.

Lady M-- I know, I TOLD you I was a sucker for kittens. My kitten defense is getting stronger though, as I have been able to resist the last few "free kittens" signs posted here and there!

Drunk Mummy said...

My kids do that 'fair' thing too!
I have told them that since they are all completely different children, I have no intention of tying myself in knots all the time, trying to treat them exactly the same. That one is definitely going to come back and bite me on the bum in the future!

Sparx said...

My parents always tried to be really fair between my brother and I and I think, even though sometimes they couldn't be, we appreciated the effort. Keep it up!