It is 12:50 at night (which actually makes it "morning")and I am still awake. Like a newborn who gets her days and nights mixed up I too am starting to "cross over." I think I am in the process of rebelling against my life as a working mom. And so, during my time off, I tend to do everything in extremes. For example, instead of rushing around trying to clean up the dishes or make sure the clothes are washed I just "let it go." Instead of going to bed early so I can wake up early I now go to bed late because I can wake up late. But, like a newborn, I am starting to get colicky...except at my age I think it is called getting "cranky."
In an effort to de-escalate my crankiness I left the house late in the evening to go get myself a Coke (I had been craving the sweetness---and yes, the caffeine since I'm tired from staying up so late!) On my way back home I came upon a tiny figure in the middle of the road. As I got closer I saw that it was a fawn...a newly born fawn. She was having trouble standing, let alone walking on the road. I put on my hazzards and was fully prepared to warn any oncoming vehicles. As the fawn wobbled over to the side of the road I noticed that she was having trouble maneuvering through the thorny vines and bushes. I began to worry that she would never make it under/through the fence which would leave her exposed to late night drivers. I wondered if her mother was still alive. The moon looked close to being full and there were many deer and other fawns out a couple of miles down the same road. I knew that I was not suppose to handle this delicate creature because her mother would return...but what if.... The thoughts started pouring into my mind...and found their way to my heart. I could not take the chance that this spotted fawn may not survive the night.
You can probably guess what I did next. I scooped up that precious fawn and held her against my chest. She never tried to run, but then again I still believe she was too young to even do so. As I drove the three miles back to my home this amazing baby animal rested in my lap. She cried out for her mother and the sound nearly broke my heart. I shhhhhushed her as I had my own children when they were babies. I patted her back and talked soothingly to her. I brought her into my home and showed her off.
We decided as a family that we had to return her and so my daughter went with me. She is the true animal lover in the family. Just this morning (well, yesterday, now) she told me that she wanted to join ASPCA, "...it's just 8 cents a day Mom! And every cent goes to help animals!" She held the fawn in her lap and as we drove down the road she excitedly blurted out, "It's licking my arm, Mom! It's licking me!" My daughter didn't even have to hold on tight. The fawn rested calmly in her lap. She kept looking up at my daughter with trusting eyes. My daughter scratched and rubbed her back. The fawn probably would have gone to sleep if we had kept on driving. But we didn't. We came to the spot where I had originally found it and after my daughter planted a soft kiss on its head I set the fawn down on the other side of the fence and said a prayer into the dark night. I got back into the car and drove to a place where I could turn around. When we came back to "the spot" I could no longer see the fawn. It is my hope and my prayer that she and her mother reunited and slept together beneath the light of the moon.
In an effort to de-escalate my crankiness I left the house late in the evening to go get myself a Coke (I had been craving the sweetness---and yes, the caffeine since I'm tired from staying up so late!) On my way back home I came upon a tiny figure in the middle of the road. As I got closer I saw that it was a fawn...a newly born fawn. She was having trouble standing, let alone walking on the road. I put on my hazzards and was fully prepared to warn any oncoming vehicles. As the fawn wobbled over to the side of the road I noticed that she was having trouble maneuvering through the thorny vines and bushes. I began to worry that she would never make it under/through the fence which would leave her exposed to late night drivers. I wondered if her mother was still alive. The moon looked close to being full and there were many deer and other fawns out a couple of miles down the same road. I knew that I was not suppose to handle this delicate creature because her mother would return...but what if.... The thoughts started pouring into my mind...and found their way to my heart. I could not take the chance that this spotted fawn may not survive the night.
You can probably guess what I did next. I scooped up that precious fawn and held her against my chest. She never tried to run, but then again I still believe she was too young to even do so. As I drove the three miles back to my home this amazing baby animal rested in my lap. She cried out for her mother and the sound nearly broke my heart. I shhhhhushed her as I had my own children when they were babies. I patted her back and talked soothingly to her. I brought her into my home and showed her off.
We decided as a family that we had to return her and so my daughter went with me. She is the true animal lover in the family. Just this morning (well, yesterday, now) she told me that she wanted to join ASPCA, "...it's just 8 cents a day Mom! And every cent goes to help animals!" She held the fawn in her lap and as we drove down the road she excitedly blurted out, "It's licking my arm, Mom! It's licking me!" My daughter didn't even have to hold on tight. The fawn rested calmly in her lap. She kept looking up at my daughter with trusting eyes. My daughter scratched and rubbed her back. The fawn probably would have gone to sleep if we had kept on driving. But we didn't. We came to the spot where I had originally found it and after my daughter planted a soft kiss on its head I set the fawn down on the other side of the fence and said a prayer into the dark night. I got back into the car and drove to a place where I could turn around. When we came back to "the spot" I could no longer see the fawn. It is my hope and my prayer that she and her mother reunited and slept together beneath the light of the moon.
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