Uni-Boobs, A Rabid Wolf, and Other Assorted Craziness

I have surprising more energy and motivation today than I expected after staying up until 3 a.m. two nights in a row and not sleeping in. For this I am exceedingly thankful. I may have mentioned once or twice that sleep deprivation kicks my rump faster than just about anything else. But a new day, even if it started before bedtime, is a blessing in that it presents a chance to arise and view everything in a new and different way. My house is still a mess - in a bigger way than just "stuff absolutely everywhere" - and our many issues still linger and have been added unto, but I'm feeling ready to tackle it again. Thank you for your prayers, advice and good wishes. Really. It did my heart so much good just to vent and know that I was heard and held up.

My late night was to finish laundry and ironing to prepare my oldest son for camp. (Yes, ironing. Weird, I know. It's not MY idea. :-) ) On the way home from dropping him off, we passed a real live version of his very favorite animal on the side of the highway. I don't know where or remember when his fascination with wolves started, but he loves their strength and beauty (in his eyes.) After almost two years "in the country," I have seen some deer and wild turkey, even a rabbit or two, but I have yet to see a wild wolf. As we passed though, I noticed that he seemed bravely close to the zipping traffic along the interstate. He barely flinched. In fact, I became convinced that he wasn't even real, which completely got my curiosity fired up. Why would someone put a stuffed wolf by the side of the highway? I decided to turn around and find out. As we drove the mile up and back to find the wolf, we spotted him, standing in the same place, but now facing the other direction. Was this some sort of prank born out of summer boredom? I pulled over about 20 yards from the wolf, expecting to scare him safely back into the woods and away from the flying roar of passing rigs. But he just stood there. We stopped and watched, mesmerized. Finally his head turned, leading his body to bobble like a drunkard. The poor animal was standing there nearly comatose for about a minute at a time before he would attempt to move again and wobble just like someone who has consumed far too much alcohol. Then, finally, he lied down and shut his eyes. It was all too much for my tender-hearted daughter, who couldn't stand to recognize the suffering. As I assured her I was waiting for a safe spot to re-enter traffic and leave, he stood back up into his statuesque pose. He obviously wasn't going to make it, but he sure was going to try anyway.

About three months ago, we watched with giggles as a possum chased his own tail in cartoon like motions around the middle of an off-ramp. His speed was like that of someone amped up on a whole case of energy drinks and though we knew something wasn't right, it was easy to distract from that because of his spastic animations. It was less sad and more amusing than with the wolf. In both cases we called animal control. They probably both were rabid, but this was obviously a far more advanced case and very hard to watch. Even so, I still wish my son could have seen the wolf so up close, just without the ugly outcome.

Which reminds me, among the many things we will miss about him this week will most of all be his humor. Last week, we were blessed to take a quick trip to the river with our neighbors and had a wonderful time rafting the twelve miles, picnicking on the banks and digging up rocks. I relished in the moments of recognizing that my hubby and I are still our kids' first pick of company for having fun, though they are growing up quickly. One tell-tale sign that my son is maturing at such a fast rate is his new ability at witty one-liners. As I lay back in the water to cool off and face the sunshine, my t-shirt filled up with air across my chest. "Hey, look Dad!" he yelled to my husband downstream. "Check out Mom's shirt. She's got UNI-BOOBS! She's UNI-BOOBER Kazinski!"

Wasn't it just last week the "UNI-BOOBS" were his primary source of nutrition? Where does the time go?