There are lot's of different christmas stories, everyone has one. This one is mine.
Two weeks before christmas and my world was upside down. The vet bills hadn't been paid in awhile and the snow had rocked our world. Everything seemed so hopeless and so very, very hard. Radar, Norton, Finnigan and Sam came and overextended us even further. They added insurmountable challenges. Radar peacefully passed, and so did Sam, Finnigan returned to his rescuers, no longer in pain and unleaky too and Norton continues to rock the boat every once in awhile. The biggest challenge was the struggle to save Baby Jack and Spritely, neither one old and so in my mind, both of them to weather the storm and stay awhile more. Mostly I can accept the losses, Radar and Sam were ready to go, but not the two barn guys, they were waiting for us to find the answers. We didn't find them. We lost Baby Jack, his ashes are here on the counter waiting for us to lay him to rest. Spritely stayed with us, but we just bought her another week or month or two.
Tonight is the night before Christmas, and all thru this house, there are creatures gently stirring on their warm bed and couch....Spritely is safe inside her stall and everyone else is well. The donations that came from the newspaper story have cleared all the vet bills, the feed bins are full and there are gifts for everyone tomorrow. I have heard from countless kind people who value what we do and some of them shared their own animal love stories that touched me thru and thru.
It is the night before Christmas and when I look all thru this house, I am eternally grateful; for Spritely, for compassion, for caring, for the outpouring of support, and for a world that can see what we see when we look at Bill, or Moses, or Michael or Gideon, or Pops.
This is the best Christmas story I have lived in yet.
I wish all the broken, lonely, hurt people on the planet could know, just for a brief moment, the kind of love that is SAINTS. I wish very animal ever born could know the respect that is SAINTS.
Our world has the potential to create misery and joy, war and peace. Fortunately, there exists a little Sanctuary in Mission, a place of pure goodness, perfect in its imperfections, that proves there is hope, there is love, there are little miracles.
Carol, my hope for you today, and every single day, is that you continue to find light in the darkness, and you continue to share your light with those of us fortunate enough to call you friend.