Saying Goodbye Again

We've been talking about getting another dog soon so we could overlap life spans, but we didn't get around to it in time. Our dog Beowulf passed away on March 25th, 2011 after acting a bit sick for less than a day. It was so sudden and unexpected. He was still going strong at 11 years old. Just the day before he had traipsed through the neighborhood when I forgot and left the front door open to welcome the spring breeze into the house. Like a good dog, he came back when I called. That same week he had chased a cat out of the yard that I thought was casing the chickens. The night before he passed away, he was loved up by our friends who have four children. They don't have their own dog and Beo always got some good rubs and scratches in hard to reach places from them. I was so glad that it didn't happened while we were out of town. We had been in and out of the house all day, running errands and visiting cousins down the street at Nana's and Papa's house. I came home for some lettuce to add to a salad and found him in the backyard sleeping. He was warm and soft as if he had just lain down. It was too surreal as the chickens gathered near him and sunlight bathed the yard.

Yesterday we buried his ashes deep in the roots on the other side of the tree where we buried Grendel. It reminded us of the way she used to hide behind the rocks at our last house and hop out sideways with her tail straight up and ambush Beo or another unsuspecting dog on the sidewalk. Sometimes she would deliver a quick clawless rat-ta-tat-tat on their nose and then run away. It is fitting now that they both rest near each other.

 We still think we've forgotten to let him in when we hear another dog bark outside. We still try not to trip on him in the dark when we go to bed. I still worry about leaving food on the table because he might climb up there while we're gone. And the crumbs under Boo's high chair are definitely adding up without his help in that arena. There’s no one to give meat scraps to and no dog leaning in on you for a scratch when you sit down and cross your legs. No wet nose in your hand when you weren’t expecting it and no dog hair on the floor. Perhaps I shouldn’t be sad about that last one, but I am. That mutt gave our home a furry soul.


Beowulf- Adopted Jan. 8th, 2000 - Mar. 25th 2011



St. Patrick's Day

The wedding cloth I sewed (am sewing still) for my sister's wedding: the Irish Claddagh meaning, "I give to thee my heart, promising eternal fidelity." claddagh ring lore

Our second grade curriculum focuses on fables and stories of saints.  This has afforded us the opportunity to explore the backgrounds of several holidays that we've have always wanted to know more about (speaking for myself I guess). This has included the feast of St. Francis in which we took our chickens to church for an animal blessing, and of course, today, St. Patrick's Day. So far this has also included other less culturally known saint days such as Michaelmas, Martinmas, St. Lucia, Epiphany/ 3 Kings Day, and Candlemas/ Feast of St. Brigid/ Groundhog's Day. I am looking forward to Joan of Arc as well. But back to today...

Saint Patrick's day is just too fun because I am married to a red head who everyone assumes is Irish. Once at a St. Patrick's Day parade he was sporting an authentic wild red beard and we laughed so hard to see someone in the parade wearing a fake beard just like it in attempt to appear more Irish!  He tried to sneak out today without wearing green, figuring his eyes were green enough.  On second thought he snuck back in and I caught him in a green dress shirt and driver's cap- much more Irish looking!  It's also fun because Fairy Girl has been studying Irish Dance through Haran School of Irish Dance.  And though I am not Irish, I am now an Irish sympathizer.

Modern celebrations are full of making merry, parades and wearin' the green.  But through studying St. Patrick, we've learned how St. Patrick wasn't Irish, but dedicated his life to peacefully sharing Christ with the Druids and early Irish people in the mid 400's AD.  He established the first churches and monasteries and used the shamrock as a visual aid in his explanation of the Holy Trinity. We also learned that those churches were responsible for the training up over the centuries through the middle ages, amazing numbers of bards, poets, missionaries, and scholars. In my preparation for this unit I also read of the demoralizing rule of the English who clear cut the great old oaks growing in Ireland and made it illegal for Irish Catholics to own land and hold offices in government until the 1900's. Queen Victoria refused to let her Irish guards wear shamrocks on their lapels on St. Patrick's Day, so now I have a better understanding of the cultural significance of wearing green to show Irish solidarity.

And now, an updated picture of my laddie sporting both personas: his baby dragon shirt from his auntie for his 4th birthday and his orca whale messenger bag I made for his 5th birthday. Here's a toast to their continued peaceful coexistence!