Mocha, Mama, travel concerns

Mama and I have been watching Mocha (our adopted Yorkshire Terrier) closely over the past weeks. That her health was failing was clear. How long she would last was the question. A trip to the vet early this week cost us almost $100, and the medicines prescribed for her seemed only to upset her stomach and bowels. Hence, there has been a lot of extra cleaning up after her. X-rays taken revealed a heart issue that indicated poor function on one side of her heart. Yesterday, as I taught class, Mama and I spoke on a break, and she was at the point of accepting that we had done all we can to help Mocha. So, Mama and Mocha made their last trip to the vet yesterday evening. The vet put Mocha to sleep to ease her suffering and we buried her at a special spot in the garden. Mama was very deeply affected by the loss. She is sad to see her little couch buddy go. We have housed Mocha for five or six years. I was relieved to be done with all the special foods required, the special care required, the special grooming required, the constant care required to avoid stepping on or kicking Mocha who was always underfoot. Mama is grieved and I am relieved. When it comes to attachment to our animals, that is a common outcome.

With Mocha not laid to rest, our attention is on Samson. There are indications that he too might be near his end. For weeks now Mama has been doctoring Sam with pain meds to help him with the hip dysplasia that keeps him closer to home than in past years. Gemma has borne the burden of running off varmints for several months now. She will streak out of the yard or around the shop with Sam lumbering slowly behind. That will not continue much longer and Sam, unlike Mocha will have to be replaced. I am holding off on making that replacement until the final moments of Sam’ service here at the farm. I am hesitating because if Mama and I were required to sell and vacate the farm, it is uncertain what we would be able to do with our working dogs – our guardians. This has been a perfect setting for them to thrive in, doing what they are bred to do. I can think of no better place for them and would be loathe to uproot them from that service. We have no plans to sell, but life has made some surprising turns for us and we know nothing this side of Heaven is certain – least of all where we will stay for the remaining years of our natural lives. So, for now, I wait.

Mama and Kimberlyn are out today for the final disbursement of toys and gifts for the military folks in the units Kenny and Kimberlyn minister to. I believe this will finish the effort for this year, which has been significant on their parts. One obligation met. I suppose it is a part of the season we are in and is a great reminder that true giving takes time and effort to accomplish. In this particular case, it is a small act of gratitude for the commitment to service being honored by those deployed for our safekeeping. Too often these service members are “out of sight, out of mind” as they carry out their duties, so, it is nice to get to help in remembering them – even in this small way. 

Class went well yesterday. There was a lot of great feedback. I have one more class to teach for the year and an additional class to monitor and provide aid in. Other than that, I will be finished for 2021. As the schedule gets filled out for 2022, we will see how that pans out, but it looks like a very busy year. We are making progress on getting the series of videos together to modify the class I present most often. It is a bit challenging to get the presentation right, to ensure everything is said correctly, to keep the video to a usable length, but I will get multiple chances to make the presentations for the videographers.  When I have permission, I will share one or more of the videos, but for the moment, they are not ready to be released. Mama has seen several that have been shared with me as they are being developed, but other than that, they have been kept internally. 

In our current situation nationally and globally, it does not look like we will be going to Honduras next year. Mama and I are still praying about the trip but travel back into the country remains so much in flux, that almost anything can happen -none of it good. I enjoy Honduras and the people in the church there as much as spending time with Nate, Cori and the grandkids, but the airlines are getting extremely demanding with covid protocols and mask wearing, making the flights a function of endurance versus an enjoyable experience. Reentry is the biggest question and whether a vaccine passport will be required to get back home. I put no hope in the current government, either Republican or Democrat to belay that option and I have no confidence in the current administration to ease travel restriction. So, for now, we will watch and wait to see if our annual trip is feasible. 

A small but endurable disappointment should we not go.