The Good and The Bad

Our weekend started bad and ended good.  I guess I'll start with the bad.
 Saturday morning we awoke to Peyton running in the house screaming, "Pokie has blood all over her!".  I'm thinking,"What is it with all the bloody animals lately?"  We dressed as fast as we could and ran outside thinking she'd been attacked by something.  When I saw her, I immediately knew what had happened.  You see, Pokie was pregnant, but not due until Spring.  Sometime during the night her foal must have been born.  I looked around and did not see any new horses, so my heart sank when I realized the foal must not have made it.  We started on a trek around the property to confirm my suspicions.  Sure enough, under a big tree, we found her.  It was a girl; a tiny, beautiful, perfect little foal. 

I just finished a book about mares and new foals to prepare for the big day.  I had only skimmed the chapter called "Tragedy".  Surely, that would never happen to my mare, she's foaled before without problems.  I remembered the book said that it would take the mare a while to realized that her foal was dead.  I pictured Pokie nudging and licking her sweet little foal trying to wake her up, and my heart just broke for her.  I wondered if horses grieve for stillborn offspring like humans do.

We let the kids decide for themselves if they wanted to see the little foal.  They both wanted to see her.  Death is such a hard life lesson to accept.  When we got back to the house, Reece and I both had tears in our eyes.  My brave little girl told me, "Mom, everything happens for a reason, you know?"    I smiled and told her that she was right, and we all agreed to just be grateful that Pokie made it through her tragic night unharmed.

 

Let's move on to the Good!   As most of you know, we are all from Louisiana.  Dad is a HUGE New Orleans Saints fan, always has been for the entire 13+ years  I've known him.  He loves the game of football, and his support for the Saints has never wavered even when they were at their worst.  Most of the time, I think Pro football is silly.  I just see grown men making millions of dollars to run around in spandex, knocking each other down for a ball, and slapping each other on the butts.  I can usually only get into football when my own son is playing.  However, this year's Super Bowl was different.

Let me explain:  We were in Louisiana when Katrina hit.  We saw what it did to the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.  It was complete devastation on so many levels, not just to things, but to people and their spirits.  New Orleans has been due for some joy for a long time.  If it takes football to bring that city joy, then so be it.   The New Orleans Saints winning that game was so much more than just football.  It was hope, the hope that one day that magnificent, magical city will one day be the same as I remember it to be. 

Congratulations New Orleans!  You deserved it!