Letter to the girls

I've been looking after your animals.  But I haven't seen Fiji since you left!  Maybe it was her who is responsible for this I found on the deck this afternoon.

Or maybe it was young Mother Cat teaching her babies how to hunt.  The way they gobble their food, you'd think they haven't been fed for weeks!  They get their food everywhere but always clean up their mess.

I went up to the house early today because I could hear Mini crying out.  She didn't sound happy.  And no wonder!  She'd jumped on and off the trampoline so much, she'd shortened her chain to the point she could hardly move.  But she perked up as soon as I moved her to fresh grass and the shade of a tree.  Hope that tree isn't important to your mum.  She might be cross with me!

Georgia, Franklin is happy.  Well, I think he is.  It's a bit hard to tell with a turtle!

Jack and Roxy?  They're OK.  Jack only cares about his food, and I suppose he's enjoying his holiday from farm work.

 

I think Roxy is OK, too.  What do you think?

Have I forgotten anyone?  Ah yes, the lamb.  I know it looks after itself but its there and looking fine.  And, really, we are going to have to start calling it a sheep!

See you all soon.  Can't wait!

Mimsy

Life can change in a second, can't it?

There I was around 5 pm taking a quiet moment to read the paper. The little girls were all happy. We'd got through the after school snack and news of the day without any hiccups.
"She didn't eat all her lunch, she was too busy playing."
"I was not, I wasn't hungry."
"She took two pieces of cake and you said one piece each."
"I did not."
Just the usual squabbles.

TV viewing had been negotiated. Georgia was snuggled up under a blanket watching her choice of programme. Krystal and I had just had a nice time doing her homework. Now she and Shayde were jumping, chatting, laughing on the trampolene.

Then blood curdling screams! I nearly fell over myself getting out the door. In time to see, out of the corner of my eye, Jack, the biggest farm dog, disappearing through the hedge with something in his mouth. Krystal was standing in the yard just screaming and screaming, tears bucketing down her face, a look of shock and horror on her face. Shayde was also screaming, crying and running, stumbling after Jack as he trotted off down the hill, something dangling from his mouth.

It didn't take me long to figure out his kill was their kitten, Mimsy. I wrapped my arms around Krystal and hid her face in my chest but what to do about Shayde? The same old problem I used to have when I cared for the twins on a daily basis when they were little toddlers. How do you give solace to both at the same time?

I had to yell and yell at Shayde to come back. She couldn't hear me above her own screams. I knew the dog would just keep on trotting off ahead of her, the kitten would be dead. Eventually she came back and I had my arms around both of them, doing my best to give comfort. Thinking don't come outside now, Georgia, I have my arms full.

Oh, how they shook and cried! Poor little buggers. Happy playing one minute with their kitten asleep under the tramp. The next witnessing life in the raw.

These farm kids know about death, usually accept it easily. But not when it's a much loved pet. Not when they witness, close up, a brutal death. Dear little Mimsy, so laid back and smoochy.

Georgia came out of the lounge when her programme finished. I still had my arms around Krystal and Shayde and told her what had happened. Her big brown eyes filled with tears and she wedged herself in between her sisters for a family hug. She didn't make a sound.