Teaching Your Child to Mistreat God's Creatures is So Wrong!

Ok, I hear you. How many parents do that? Too many in my mind and by my definition.

I am pretty riled up on several levels about a situation in my neighborhood. Seven weeks ago a young couple with a little girl moved out of the neighborhood. They left their dog and cat at the old house and come by once a day to feed them. What the hell are they thinking?

What kind of example is that for their little girl? That is bad enough but the dog is completely undisciplined or trained--that seems to be why they left him. Well, it is their fault if he is unruly. I don't think the little thing ever got any lovin' since he is not socialized at all-- and he is about 5 years old. He is in a small run 24-7.

Another neighbor offered to take the cat, but they have not taken her up on it as of yet. And there are lots of pet rescues in the area that could take the dog. How could they leave those animals there feeling confused and alone? It breaks my heart. Now, I am a dog person, but I also have cats. My pets are part of my family and I could no sooner leave one of them than I could leave my husband or my kids.

And the other part of this that steams me is that they call themselves "Christians." Isn't there a quote from Jesus in the Bible that as you treat least of God's creatures, so you have treated Him? It upsets me that this child is learning to mistreat animals through neglect at such a young age. To me, that is not upholding the truths of God. If they do not want the pets, then find good homes for them--don't just abandon them. I will never respect the so-called Christian that can do this!

Parents, please think about it before you buy a pet, much less more than one. Do you love animals? Do you have time to care for the pet? Do you have room for them in your heart, home, and life? If the answer is NO or I Don't Know, then do not bring the pet home. It is that simple.

My wonderful Waya is a rescue that was mistreated and abandoned (she is in the photo). She had so many issues with trust and socializtion when we first got her. She was afraid to get inthe car to the point that if you went more than 1/2 mile, she would shake, foam at the mouth, and throw up. And you had to put her in the car. No way would she just get in by herself! She either hid or acted very mean if people came into the house--even if they came regularly.

Now she is such a great friend to me now. She and I bonded first and we spend a lot of time together. She is never judgmental when I get in a bad mood, she just gives me my space. When I return home from a trip or from the grocery, she is always thrilled to see me. She listens to me when I need to vent about something without trying to fix it for me--just lets me talk. She is very social with people and other animals. She has blossomed beautifully, but I never want another dog to be damaged like that.

Pets are great for kids. They give unconditional love and provide a lot of enterainment. Pets teach kids responsibility and give them a readily accessible "buddy." But not every home should have one, as evidenced by my former neighbor.

Celebrating my birthday with Billy Joel and Elton John

Yep, and they even sang Happy Birthday to me!

Well, I was in the audience and they sang a Happy Birthday song and it was 2 days after my birthday and the tickets were a birthday present.

I am sure that the fact that Elton John was born in March had nothing to do with it...

For my birthday, my kids got together and bought me tickets to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert. I was blown over! Both by the gift and by the concert. When I pulled the tickets out of the gift bag, I was speechless. My husband was just as excited--until I told him I wasn't sure who was getting the second ticket. That cooled him down and bit and made him be nice for a couple of days.

Seriously, he knew he was going and he is always nice (which is quite annoying sometimes when people--aka: my kids--want to know why he is nicer than me... but that is different story.) What a great show. I drug myself out of my sick bed--sorry all of you who were sitting around me. I did try to not cough too much and to breathe shallow so as not to spread too many germs.

The way Billy and Elton played together was nothing short of miraculous to my non-musical brain. They would be playing a song and they alternated on the keyboards without ever skipping a beat, or a bar, or whatever it is . We in the audience only knew if we were watching very closely. And, they did all my favorite songs--how did they know?

Even better was that I was able to share it with my daughter and son-in-law. Scott had given Erika tickets for her birthday a couple of weeks ago so we went down together. Unfortunately our tickets were not together, but we have had a great time comparing notes ever since.

Another thing that I enjoyed was that so many young people were there--20's and 30's kind of people. Most of these kids weren't even born when some of those songs were popular, but they were singing away with songs like Crocodile Rock and My Life. Obviously they had great parents who taught them about good rock and roll.

Anyway, we had a great time and I just want to say how great my kids are! This was an "over the top" kind of gift that leaves me stunned and speechless. I remember when their gifts were cold toast in bed, homemade cards and clay pots, a cheap dime store necklace, and such. They were all wonderful and filled my heart because they gave the gifts out of love--I could see the eagerness in their faces when I opened each one--so sure I would love it. And I did love all of those gifts.

This was the same way. The kids that were here were anticipating my reaction and my son who lives in Panama, called and asked if I had gotten my gift yet. They were as excited to give me this gift as I was to receive it. I saw that old anticipatory look in their faces that they had when they were little. For that, the gift was so much more precious. They are all adults and did not give something out of obligation. The fact that it was something they knew I would enjoy and that they were so enthused about presenting to me meant more than the actual gift.

Thanks, Erika, Scott, Michael, Susan, Aaron, and Jaime. I am the luckiest mom in the world and I love you all.