Friends!
Please bear with me while I share some exciting family news. This summer, my husband Craig and I became grandparents AND found out that Grandbaby #2 is on the way. (Luckily, these two pieces of news come from separate households.)
We’re ecstatic that our granddaughter will have a little cousin to play with and probably boss around. We’re also ecstatic for their parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who are so joyful about these little ones and have already formed a tight circle to ensure the safety and well-being of our growing family. We are so lucky.
This profound shift in our family has me thinking. First, am I really this old? (Emphatically yes. Almost sixty-one.) Second, what is our family’s legacy? As we grow older, what are Craig and I leaving behind? Were we good parents? How do we do this grandparenting thing? The world is so challenging; what can we contribute to our new little family members to help them become strong, loving, compassionate adults? This, my friends, is the stuff that keeps me up at night.
Since I started volunteering at 13 Hands, I’ve seen the staff members welcome many newborns into the herd and artfully form a tight circle to ensure that those babies will not suffer the same fate as their mothers who were treated heartlessly. On the contrary, the babies are exposed to gentle, loving hands immediately; given whatever medical care they need by expert veterinarians; and showered with enthusiastic, welcoming praise by every visitor who has a chance to say hello. In addition, their mothers, often exhausted and depleted from long pregnancies and arduous births, receive generous attention and support so they can nurture their foals. The 13 Hands caregivers’ commitment is unwavering.
When I think about a family’s legacy, 13 Hands comes to mind in the most reassuring way. A family in its own right, 13 Hands does everything to make sure that their legacy lies in the physical and emotional health of every rescue they take in, every life they save. And their legacy is perhaps most visible in the babies born to rescued mares, the babies who someday will provide companionship and devotion to their humans. This, my friends, is what helps me sleep.
So—WELCOME TO THE WORLD, our most recent additions:
Carlito, born to Megan
Salvador, born to Dulce
Milagro, born to Gale
Valero, born to Raven
Rex, born to June
And little Ophelia, who, orphaned at birth, is being nurtured by an adoptive lactating mare who’s nursing her as her own
You are all in our hearts, our thoughts, and our dreams.
With love to you and to everyone in your circle,
(Grandma) Karen
