June 29, 2007

Life and Death

CORRECTION NOTICE: Apparantly I'm not receiving A's in my Bovine 101 because of heard Cheryl wrong. Sorry for the misinformation. Now I know why internet sources are not reliable :)
Anyway, A Female (cow) is Born a Heifer....and then when she has two calves she is then a cow. Now this is the dairy industry. Don't ask me why...this is the way it is. My daddy who lives on a beef farm out west says that when the 'cow' has her baby they are then a cow and a calf. Maybe it depends on who you are talking to.
confused yet?

Anyway I just got back from a run. So nice to be running again and feeling 'alive'. The air is crispy and the sun is hot. I could not think of a better way to start my day. Adam is out on a bike ride with Erin in the trailer. Lara and I are just waiting for peyton to wake up from his nap before we head into town. Today is grocery day and I promised lara she could stop in to say hi to her great grandfather.

He is sucha wonderful man. Strong in character and faith, wisdom and truth. He is faithful and such a good example to have around for my children. I have been blessed that way in my life. I turn 30 this year and I have only lost one grandparent. All four are such a blessing. They are good solid christian folk and have taught me alot about what a good marriage should look like. I do pray for them often and thank God for them everyday.

Lara woke up last night crying. She was genuinely upset about her great grandma. What you have to understand is that my granny has alzeimers (sp) and is in a long term care facility. Lara has been praying for her every night for almost a year that God would take care of her and that she would have good sleeps at the hospital. So cute. So nice of her. Last night however she was really sad that grandma would go to heaven soon. I explained everything to her the best I could. It was one of those moments when being a mother is so rewarding. It is so nice to hold your child and comfort them. To know that your arms and your words can help this little person fall asleep.
This morning she said that nothing would make her feel better about her granny, so I called my grandpa who I'm sure would help explain life and death a little better to a five year old.

Bless her heart that she has developed such a love for a woman she hardly knows. Bless her heart that she cares so deeply for this woman that she is genuinely upset. Children are so pure and innocent, and I hate having to explain to her that death is just a part of life. She is starting to realize that life is not all candy and roses. I don't like that part but I'm glad I'm here to hold her when she finds it out. I'm also glad that I can turn to her and explain that grandma is going to heaven because she has Jesus in her heart, and that heaven is wonderful.

On that note...I've lost my train of thought. Lara is playing the guitar (sort of ), Erin is talking to herself, and Peyton is waking up. ...so I've got to go.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very sweet. Love you guys. . .

Cheryl said...

Hi Alyson,

It is a tough topic with little children. When my grandma passed away (great grandma), Chase was always asking where she was....since she used to live right across the road. I told him that she went to live with the angels. It seemed to help him. Until one day, I found him explaining to Karson that the cow that had just passed away in our barn was going to live with the angels with great grandma. Then he said, "she must've needed milk."

And, just a little verification. 1st calf heifer, 2nd calf heifer and then when she has a third she is a cow. Technicalities. However, we say "we have to go milk the cows" not "we have to go milk 20 cows, 15 2nd calf heifers, and 15 1st calf heifers."

Sorry this is so long. By the way, I wanted to go for a run tonight....sunday seems so long away now.
Cheryl