The kids loved the Canby area.
They were looking forward to starting school but balked at the requirement to
ride a school bus. They would be the first one picked up for the 20-25 minutes ride
to school. We agreed with their frustration because you could look out our
front window and see Rod’s school straight down the street three blocks away.
Rachel’s school was just behind that. They had always walked to school in
Regina and this annoyed them. Rules were rules we were told. Safety and all
that! Canby was a small town. How unsafe could it be? The school won.
We got the kids the puppy they had
always wanted. It was a shorthaired mixed mutt with some Terrier and Beagle
dominating. I began to develop my travel schedule with plans to hit the road
for a number of 3-4 day trips with 5-8 churches on each run. School began and
then Della went down.
Something happened to her back and
she could barely move. The kids were at school, I was planning to be gone
immediately, we knew almost no one and we had a brand new extremely active
puppy tearing around the house. The whole situation became a sudden nightmare.
I got back on the phone and
rescheduled my trips without knowing how long the delay would be. I pushed
things out 2-3 weeks. The kids jumped in to take care of “Sparky” when they
were home, but none of us could be there 24-7. I took over meals, laundry, and
some minor cleaning. I told Della I would do what I could to find a
chiropractor and, your have to know her to understand this response, “I don’t
want to go.” She didn’t want to see any doctor.
I know a lot of people don’t like
chiropractors, but Della’s mother saw one, I could not have continued work at
Alpha Dairy in our early days together without one. She knew the benefits. I
was just learning that I would have to take over and make her get treatment
when it came to her own health. She always just wanted to rest.
I found a guy locally and made her
go. She finally began to improve and it took another two weeks before she got
back into circulation. In the meantime, a lady from the church came to visit
and began cleaning the house, She didn’t ask if she could, she didn’t even
offer her services, she just did it. She pitched in with the dishes, the laundry,
picked up and made the occasional meal and told me to get back to work she
didn’t want to see be getting fired when I just got there.
Maxine cleaned the church and God
sent her to our home. Maxine became grandmother to the our kids and came most afternoons
to check on things and stayed until the kids got home from school. She was such
a blessing. She didn’t even know us.
In time everything settled down.
Then one Saturday Rhonda came in through the back patio door and said Sparky is
hurt. I went running out, plowed my way through the back row of Arborvitae the
empty lot and to the street behind us. A car had hit Sparky. Rod was standing
over him with the saddest face and as I approached he said, “He’s dead.” Rhonda
was crying. I comforted the kids and told them we should take him home where we
would bury him in the back yard. Rod wanted to carry him and did.
It was a solemn afternoon. We
quietly prepared his grave, had a small service, said a prayer and said
goodbye. That evening was also very quiet. It was the biggest loss out kids had
ever faced.
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