The Blessing Ornament

I’m not sure why I can’t be one of those fabulously, organized women who has all their Christmas shopping done weeks in advance.

I’d even take being a semi-fabulous, organized woman who had their Christmas shopping done two weeks in advance. As it stands, I’ll be buying Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve.

Actually, it’s probably safer that I am not able to shop that far in advance. I bought a gift for Kiera about a month and a half ago. I’m fairly certain I hid it in the closet… I think… but I don’t remember what it was and I haven’t had a chance to go dig through the closet.

It seems like lately we have been going non-stop. I had to buy a magnetic calendar for our refrigerator just to keep up with all of our schedules.

With all that being said, I am thankful.

A little over a week ago, Aaron and Kiera came home to find a dog that did not belong to us in our backyard. Our dog, specifically Kiera’s dog, Ziggy and this other dog had gotten into a huge fight. Ziggy had bite marks on each leg, a bloodied foot and eye and some bites on his head.

Aaron called me at work to let me know and I immediately started trying to find a vet since it was after hours. I rushed home to find that our neighbors had stopped by and were helping out. Truett was checking the other two dogs for injuries while Marie was consoling Kiera. Aaron was on the phone arranging for the dog to be picked up.

After getting everything taken care of, and the Animal Control Officer leaving our house, Kiera walked through our living room and picked up a box.

“What do you have, baby?” I asked.

“Remember? This is an ornament that we bought at a garage sale.” She replied as she opened the small box.

I nodded as she pulled a dainty glass snowman out of the box she was holding.

“I’m going to put this on our tree because we have been blessed.” She stated as she tugged the loop open and slid it on to a tree limb.

Confused, I asked, “What do you mean?”

She straightened the ornament on the tree and explained, “We were blessed tonight. Ziggy is at the vet and he is going to be ok. The animal officer came and took the other dog to safety and we had friends to help us.”

People there are days that I am in shock of how wise she can be.

“You are right, honey. You are very right.” I replied, pulling her in for a hug.

Life can often be crazy. For my family, it is crazy… but I have to remember that we are blessed and that is the best part of our crazy life.

I want to give a special thanks to our neighbors, Truett and Marie for stepping up in our moment of need. I’d also like to thank Senior Animal Control Officer Plate for treating the invading offender with respect, care and making sure it was provided for while also putting Kiera at ease. His dedication to duty was above and beyond.

Rowonna McNeely works as the Communications Manager for the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband, Aaron are regular volunteers in the community, and have their hands full with their daughter, Kiera, along with three dogs and one cat.

Thank you for sharing in our weekly journeys. If you have missed any of our past stories, check out our blog page at www.lifea2k.net or drop us a line at lifea2k@yahoo.com.