Coby is 3 Months old today!
I warned you, I would like to state for the record, that I was going to post all the good, bad, and ugly here in this blog. And this is one of those ugly days.
Now, I hate to be a Debbie-downer, or more like a super sad sally, so I have put in some good things in between here. The reality is that we have to always keep our eye on the good parts when we are in the middle of the ugly ones.
Here we go.
First, I want to update you all on the love of my life AKA my little fluffernutter Coby, who has grown exponentially in a terrifyingly fast manner and is eating and biting everything. He likes to think that my legs are play toys and that he can bite me like he is playing with other dogs. We are rapidly trying to break the habit. Anyway, he has recently learned to sit and now lie down! Such an accomplishment. Not to mention he is coming almost always when I can for him. And let me tell you, the sight of him running full speed for me, ears flying back, tongue falling out his mouth, and his little gordito self sprinting full head just makes me melt with happiness every time.
He keeps me happy. And he always drives me insane. It must be love, right?
The gorgeous Mela.
A few days ago, Meghan came to visit and she brought another addition to our family, Mela, this adorable two-month old kitten that I have been waiting for now for over two months. She was beautiful and had these big blue eyes and gorgeous coloring. I noticed soon after I got her that she had a nasty parasite that was preventing her from eating and making her lethargic, and her hair was falling out. So, I took her to the woman in our community who sells animal medicine and the anti-parasite medication. Without getting into details, Mela accidentally received the anti-parasite medication for a horse, not a two pound kitten. By the time I noticed it, it was too late. She died last night, after three long days of giving her saline injections and feeding her milk with a syringe. I have never cried so much.
For those who know me, I get incredibly emotional over animals for some reason now. I have cried over fish my brother caught and put alive in our sink to eat. I have balled over my mom killing moles that were tearing up our yard. So imagine how upset I am over this beautiful kitten that was my responsibility, that was given to me, and died over a mistake that I could have prevented. I have mentioned a million times before Peace Corps emotionally compromises you, and let me tell you, like Spock in Star Trek after the Vulcan Planet was destroyed, I was/am emotionally compromised so much that I had to take a me day today and get away. I could’t deal with do my job today. It is even harder when everyone views it as nothing because pets and animals are not a thing here. J even said right after she died that he will just get me another one. Needless to say, I cried harder.
That is the ugly part. I know what you’re thinking, “B, that’s not that bad”, but trust me, small things like that are crushing. And she wasn’t a small thing. I lied. She was a living being.
Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, so I am going to push forward to end with a good thing. I have been doing a young girls group, that I am in love with. The photo here is of a core group of my girls who are just so unbelievably bright and beautiful. They are infectious and eager and full of adventure. This week, we talked a lot about what it means to be “unique” for a girl, and how each of them is a unique person, unlike anyone else. It took a bit for them to really understand it, especially since they are at the age where they love their friends and want to emulate them in all ways. We made books about ourselves and how we are unique, made chocolate chip pancakes, and then had a talent show. I love being around young girls, when they are still young enough to not be jaded and are always smiling and happy. One of the girls told me in one of our groups talks that one of the reasons she loved our group was because it was the one place where people didn’t tell her “No, you can’t do that” and instead we tell her, “You can do anything”.
The Brilliant and Beautiful Girls! ❤
That’s why I love what I do.
Because the truth is, there isn’t anything we can’t do, especially when we are surrounded by people who love and support us.
I am here, after all.
xoxo
B
P.S. Cacata Kill Count: 6
P.P.S. All within the last month.
P.P.P.S. All in my house.
P.P.P.P.S. All killed by someone else.
P.P.P.P.P.S. Yes, I literally ran out of the house and down the road to find some muchacho to kill them.
Letters from the Dominican Republic 