Sunday Happened

Well, it was my plan in this second posting to answer the most common questions typically asked of me as a single mom, raising five kids … three of whom are a set of triplets. (You know the questions … ‘oh, my – how have you done it alone?’, ‘when did you find out you were having triplets?’ and ‘were you on fertility drugs?’ Yadda, yadda, yadda.) I figured that would be a terrific segue into introducing my children to you one at a time for future reference. (Since I plan to share stories about each one of them that will make you laugh like crazy – though my kids, on the other hand, will surely plot my assassination for sharing blackmail material about them!) I was going to answer those kind of questions, but then … Sunday happened … and it took center stage in our lives. So, for at least one more day, those ‘typical’ questions will have to wait. Meanwhile, let me tell you about Sunday.

One of the triplets, my daughter Lynzee, had gone over to a friend’s house to spend the afternoon hanging out. Normal 15 year old girl stuff - nothing too unusual. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and I was in the kitchen starting to make dinner when my cell phone rang. It was my Mom (who also lives with us in her own little guest house) asking me to drop everything and come out in the front yard right away. Her sense of urgency was obvious, so I dropped what I was doing and headed for the driveway. When I got outside, I was momentarily paralyzed by what I saw. There, cross-legged on the sidewalk by the street, sat my beautiful daughter, sobbing hysterically. Clutched in her arms, an orange housecat, now dead – that had just been hit by a car. I dropped down behind her scooped them both into my embrace and rocked her. All I could say was, ‘I’m sorry, Honey’.

Apparently she was on her way down our street, being driven home by her friend’s dad, when right in front of them about a block from our house, a car hit this cat and kept right on going. The cat didn’t die instantly, and was struggling – so being the huge-hearted healer my little girl is, she screamed ‘stop’, opened the car door and bolted to the animal’s rescue before the automobile had even come to a complete halt. Not thinking of herself for a moment, she grabbed the kitty and held it to her … blood, fur and all … and repeated words of comfort to it over and over, until only a minute later it died in her arms. She brought it all the way home with her, slid out of the car and melted into a puddle at the end of our drive. Enter, the rest of the family.

Soon after I got out to her and tried my best to lend comfort, each of her other siblings came running to her side, arriving one by one. Everyone had their own immediate personal reaction to the image of this poor dead cat, but soon after, what I saw was a beautiful thing. Each of them also had their own reaction to the image of their sister’s vulnerability and pain. Once Lynzee placed the cat on the ground in front of her, she had arms around her, hands brushing through her hair, hands wiping away her tears and words of comfort from every brother and sister. In a house of 5 independent, strong-willed children, this does not happen a lot … but it happened Sunday.

Lynzee decided she wanted to bury the kitty in our backyard and have a small ceremony for him. That was all the family needed to hear. Hunter, Lynzee’s triplet brother, went straight to the garage, got a shovel , headed for the perfect spot and began to dig a hole. Baily, Lynzee’s eight year old brother went to the kitchen, grabbed a trash bag to cover the cat’s body with and a glass of water for his sister. Sydni, Lynzee’s older sister Sydni helped Lynzee change clothes and put her blood soaked shirt into a sink of warm soapy water to soak. And Dakota, Lynzee’s twin and best friend, stayed with her sister and helped her gather up candles and stones to use for the funeral.

At 5:30 p.m., we buried ‘Baby’ - together. (A name we gave him since we didn’t know what he had been called before.)

On a regular basis, in a house full of four teenagers and one little guy, I struggle at times to find that loving connection between my children amidst all the teasing, the drama, the practical jokes … the friction. On Sunday … it was there before my eyes, larger than life.

Baby Kitty, I hope you know what a gift you brought our family as you crossed over to the other side. The very last minute of your life impacted 7 others’. I will be forever grateful that … Sunday happened.

Until tomorrow …

Hugs (from the closet),

KimbraLee =)

P. S. – Don’t wait for Sunday to happen … go hug your kids now.