Thankful for tears of Sorrow and Joy

Thanksgiving was one of many emotions for us.

It started all bubbly with me singing Christmas songs at the top of my lungs as I was getting ready for the first annual Predemption run at Crosswind.  I was getting ready to walk to my car, but checked on the horses like I always do before I leave the house, and noticed that Munchkin was laying down by the fence.  She was laying in the healthy way so I really didn't think anything was wrong until I noticed that she wasn't getting up when I walked out of the house still singing at the top of my lungs.

You see, Munchkin has an aversion to people.  She was coming along really well since joining our family, but she still backed away a bit before she nosed her way to your hand for a treat.  But she wasn't doing that.

She didn't move at all, just her mane moved from the wind.

Then there she was, lying there, with her eyes open, head on the ground, not breathing.

Tears of sorrow flowed down my face.

Munchkin was Alyssa's baby.  They bonded almost immediatley.  Munchkin would let Alyssa get her in the pasture when noone else could.  Alyssa was so afraid to walk a horse by herself until Munchkin.  She didn't like to ride very much until Munchkin.  She wanted to teach Munchkin how to jump and show her. 

Alyssa grew so much because of Munchkin.

Munchkin grew so much because of Alyssa.

My heart broke for my daughter, it is still breaking.

Alyssa was watching me check on her baby from the sun room.  I had to be strong so she didn't have to be.

I walked up to the house with my head down, praying.

She saw the tears streaming down my cheeks and she knew.

She knew that she would no longer be able to groom her pony.  She knew that jumping in the spring would never happen.  She knew that Munchkin would no longer be able to give her a kiss.  She knew.

We went out to say good bye to her.  Alyssa wanted to see for herself, but didn't want to give her one final hug.  Perhaps that was best as it is easier to remember loved ones alive and warm filled with personality.  Munchkin was no longer that way.

For a few hours Alyssa cried for the loss of her friend while I prayed and many of my friends prayed.

We thank God for Munchkin and that she was able to spend her final months with our family.  We don't know her history, but we do know that she was beaten so badly.  We know that she wasn't taken care of and didn't like people very much before she came to us.  We thanked God for all of the lessons that Munchkin has taught us about love and trust and friendship.  And we asked God to make sure that she was in a rich field of grass with a flowing stream where she could run and play and be healthy forever.

Other prayers for our family worked.  God is amazing.  We were able to enjoy the afternoon with three generations in our home.

I am so thankful that we have a home where we can have our family over for gatherings in the hopes to continue on the tradition of family holidays gatherings.

Of course, it wasn't the same as not everyone was here, but we are all grown up now with in-laws to visit, jobs to be kept, and state lines that would need to be crossed. 

Despite that, yesterday's meal was perfect.

And the game afterwards was a hoot.

We played Apples to Apples, a word game where you have to match words together based on the person whose turn it is.  My cousin kicked all of our butts, but she is a pretty good judge of character and that is what the game is a lot about.

We had 20 people playing (its meant to be played with a max of 10).  20 was perfect!  Our grouped ranged from 19 years old to 84.

The younger ones didn't know names on the cards such as Elizabeth Taylor (I guess they don't watch Nick at Nite).  And the older ones didn't know some of the younger names (none that I can remember at this moment). 

The funniest moment of the night was when it was Hank's turn (my grandpa.)  He is the oldest of the group and has a hard time reading things.  He was reading all of the cards off one by one.

Then read sea lion die on.

Sea. Lion. Die. On.?????  What was that?

Then my other cousin, the youngest one, said, "Celine Dion?"  Yup... that was what the card was.

Everyone of us just busted out laughing.

I again found myself with tears running down myface, this time from joy.

I can't put into words how grateful I am that we had that moment with Hank.  He isn't getting any younger, and our family is continuously changing, but for that moment, we were all joined together in happiness, creating a memory that will not be forgotten.

As the Christmas season comes upon us and we are all lost in the rushing around to get things done; I hope you find time to create a new memory with your family and even your animals.  You never know when will be the last time you are able create one.