A story I like:

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Tojo...good dog!

Just when you think Life is moving along just fine and you have no major worries...the unexpected comes along and knocks you for a loop. On July 1st, we had to put my little dog down. I have jokingly called him our "foster dog" ever since we agreed to care for him "temporarily" five years ago.

He used to be my sister's dog and I really did like having him here. He had such a sweet nature and really wasn't much trouble. He stayed close to home most of the time without being confined or chained and he always let us know when someone showed up in the driveway or yard. I didn't realize how much I had become attached to him until this happened.

We're pretty sure he suffered a slipped disk. Three days earlier, he was sitting on one of the big rocks by the creek with Austin and when I called him, instead of walking down the way he went up; he jumped off of the side which was at least 4 ft. high. Later that afternoon, he was walking funny and his back legs seemed to be failing when he tried to walk.

His condition worsened every day and by Sunday, it was obvious that he was suffering and in pain. He couldn't stand or hold his head up and I had to finally make the decision I knew was coming. It was incredibly sad and emotionally exhausting and I cried off and on all weekend.

I tried to talk to Austin before he left Friday, knowing that when he came back from vacation, Tojo would be gone. He didn't understand why someone would have to put a pet to sleep to keep him from suffering. He said we should just take him to the vet and get him fixed! Unfortunately, that was not an option.

Tojo is buried in the back yard and I still look for his face in the door of his doghouse whenever I look out there. I already miss him and look for him every time I go outside just out of habit. I have rejected any ideas about getting another dog. Ronald likes the fact that he barked when someone was around but I just don't care to get another one. I've always been more of a "cat" person most of my life... I guess a cat doesn't make a very good alarm though. *sigh*

An odd thing happened the day after he died...as I was driving across town I came to a red light and a motorcycle was in front of me at the light. It had a personalized license plate on it and when I got close enough to read it, I saw that it said "TOJO" ! That was really unexpected! One of my friends told me God was sending me a little "hi" from Tojo...lol...but at the time I was trying not to think about him and what had happened.

I did hear these words of wisdom from my friend Brenda at church..."I think God gives us pets to help us learn to deal with death." I've never thought of it that way before, but I guess it makes sense.

Ronald was so helpful and thoughtful when I was upset and though he doesn't get emotional about animals, he was very understanding and sympathetic to my feelings. He tried to make things easier for me. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

June was...

busy, busy, busy! With Austin out of school, he's been here every day and Cole comes after his nap. We took them to Chattanooga for a couple of days, along with Sarah. We went to Lake Winnepasauka...a small amusement park that they just love. Sarah wanted me to ride stuff with her that "spins" and after one or two, I had to give that up. I used to be able to ride everything and not have it bother me but I guess that is one more thing that has changed with age. :-)

I do still love the roller coasters though and haven't given them up yet! We spent the entire day and evening at the park, spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express and played Uno and watched tv. The boys argued over who would sleep on the foldout bed with Sarah and Cole ended up with us, much to his dismay. He elbowed me in the eye in the middle of the night so I guess he got even for being made to sleep with us. I can't say that I slept much but it was still okay. The kids swam in the indoor pool after breakfast until time to check out. It was a short trip but they had a blast.

The next week was Character Quest day camp at church. I was a counselor for 7 girls that just finished 5th grade. Two years ago was my first experience doing that and I enjoyed it so much more this time. It made a world of difference by having a peaceful week and no confrontations with anybody on the first day like two years ago. It was a busy week and it went by fast. It was hot outside for the outdoor stuff but the humidity wasn't too bad for Tenn. that week so that helped.
There were 185 kids attending the camp and everything went great. We all had a good time and the girls in my group were all pretty good kids.

Brandy and Jason have taken the kids to the beach this week and we have a break from babysitting. We took the canoe out Monday and tried a float we hadn't done before. Ronald caught one fish and we had very few bites. He said now he knows why he never floated that part of the river before. LOL