I Want to Be An Animal When I Grow Up

 

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Ah, life. I love life. Living in today's world can be a challenge, yet it is often a beautiful thing. Terry and I have been noticing changes. Slight changes, but differences nonetheless. Lately, there have been more humpback whales rescuing sea lions from the grasp of a hungry orca or other predators. The humpback throws its body between the sea lion and the predator. This altruistic movement is proof that marine life in the oceans has developed some remarkable survival techniques, even when saving a life may not mean anything to them. 

Whales becoming lifeguards has Terry and me interested in what is happening to the animals on this earth. An elephant saves a tiger cub from drowning in a swift-flowing river. A gorilla befriended a turtle after a tsunami hit, and the two now play together and share meals. Anjana, the chimpanzee, formed a bond with two abandoned tiger cubs, fostering them through life. Amazing that the animal kingdom is figuring it out, but human beings don't seem to be able to do as well. 

I want to be an animal when I grow up. 

My husband and I spent an evening in wonderment over the surprising pairs of animals helping each other. We came to the conclusion that there is something going on that humans are not enlightened enough to understand yet. Terry sat down and wrote a poem about the connections of unlikely pairs of animals after our chat. 

The idea that things are changing in this manner, even if only in the animal realm, really fills my heart with joy. Can humans catch on to this beautiful openness and connection? Will we ever understand that being friends or offering kindness to one another is truly the best way to live? We are all connected, whether we like that thought or not. I will continue with the hope that human beings can bring more joy to their lives by ascending into a world of kindness, love, and light. Although I see more humans moving toward goodness than before, maybe there might be hope for our race yet. 

***

Thursday, August 8, 2025

Today was a bittersweet day. For Terry and me, today is a memorable day in our bond. We talked for the first time on August 8, 2022. From there, it quickly escalated into a knowing that we are definitely a pair who belong together. We actually met in person for the first time on August 14. By that time, we had logged many hours of speaking on the phone to each other, learning what we were getting into, so to speak. 

The 8th of August is when I logged back into Plenty of Fish, determined to cancel the account my granddaughter had set up for me. I had been through enough folks who really did not fit into my life the way I was hoping. One was an alcoholic. Nope. Been there, done that, and boy, did I get the t-shirt. 

Another was sweet enough, but he was someone who did not want a relationship, and definitely not with just one woman. He loved threesomes, and that just was not happening in my life. Another said that he was all set to be in a relationship and wanted to marry, too. That one fell down when he called me after we had seen each other for a few weeks and informed me he had a girlfriend. This was all after I heard what an amazing connection he thought we had. Obviously, it wasn't a connection of any type on my end either, because I had forgotten about him until just now while thinking back on my experiences. 

Next up was a man I traveled a couple of hours to meet. I drove to a store and had to pull over to inform him I could not locate the street he lived on. He said he would meet me there to show me the way. Awesome. What a gentleman. What happened next scared me to no end. 

His name was Bob. Bob pulled up alongside me in the parking lot. He stepped out of his car and came up to speak to me through my window. I believe I heard, "Hi," before his hand reached into my car and rested on my breast. I pushed him away, informing him that the action was not okay. Well, this wasn't going to work. Off I drove toward home, giving up on the idea that any decent man could be found on Plenty of Fish. Oh, and I forgot to mention one encounter on the site that was interesting ... this particular guy invited me out to the woods to meet up with him and his friend. Yeah, dipshit. Because that is going to happen. 

Frazzled, I just wanted to get rid of the dating site, never to visit there again. I figured if I was supposed to meet someone, I would when the time was right. I logged on and looked at my account. Hmm. There were several messages from the losers I was running into on this site. Scrolling down the 56 messages left by probable scammers or many, I'm sure, who wanted to hook up, but not for love or a relationship, one message stood out among the rest.  

I had written a message to Terry, introducing myself to him on the last visit to this horrible site. I told him I thought he had a beautiful smile and kind eyes, which, in my opinion, he does. Spending a few moments wondering if I should bother to even open the message, my brain quickly reeled through all of the characters I had met. I concluded I was on the site to delete the account anyway, so let's see what this guy had to say. Besides, my gut was telling me to open it. So I did. 

There was a nice, normal message written by a man I felt was longing for a relationship. I could feel the longing through his words. The message was written well and did not cross any lines. At least, so far. 

He explained who he was and what he was looking for. Finally, a man who said he wanted a long-term, committed relationship, or at least that's what he suggested here. This guy didn't want me to hook up with him and a friend out in the woods with banjo music playing. He also suggested nothing about a threesome or, "Hey, come over and have a few thousand beers with me." I wrote back with a bit of hope from this meeting. The rest is history. 

Shortly afterward, Terry and I were joined by our family to join our lives together, forever. Being the romantic I am, I told him now the only way out was in a body bag because I'm just that kinda girl. 

As we celebrate today as the day we first talked, I'm also confronted with horrible news from two days before from my daughters, that their father is in the hospital. He had COPD, congestive heart failure, and was now diagnosed with many cancerous tumors from the waist up. I could feel it in my gut that he didn't have long. 

I got the phone call at 6:30 AM on the 8th of August that Tom had passed away. Two days after he was diagnosed, and in the hospital. So, while I celebrate with Terry, I have my children in my heart. Terry was concerned about how they were doing and how I was handling it, too, so I could tell his thoughts were there with them as well. 

All of my emotions were about the girls and a touch of how Tom had fallen in his bathroom, with nobody home to care for him. His sister stopped by to check on him and called 911. That thought made me sad in terms of a human being having to lie on a bathroom floor with nobody there for hours. We have no idea how long it was, although I do know that his sister stopped in twice that day.  

As I received the news, I sent Tom a few thoughts and well wishes for a beautiful, pain-free journey. I suggested the girls visit him and spend as much time as they felt they could, simply because I figured it was the final hours for him. They did visit, and they each had some alone time with him. That alone made me feel better to know that they could say a proper goodbye to their dad. 

I turned to my husband that evening and asked him to reassure me that he would do all he could to take care of himself. He does go to the doctor and, as of late, is eating much better. I'm proud of him for taking steps to watch his diet, his blood glucose numbers, and his cholesterol. It's all we can do to provide a stable, healthy lifestyle to help us exist longer, together. I do the same. I want to live as long as possible because of all the blessings I have had bestowed on me. My family, my husband, our fur babies, and life in general. I wish this for everyone. 

***

Okay, so our day was pleasant. We had a good dinner, a wonderful chat about animals, and we enjoyed our regular nighttime television show. Even though we love the show, it is coming to an end. Tonight is our last episode. 

Now that the show, Transplant, is finished, we move on to something else. We are not quite sure what that will be, but we will figure it out. 

***

Well, the jewelry thing is keeping me busy. I went to the store to see if I could purchase some more beads and possibly charms or pendants to create even more jewelry pieces or sets. I have sold a few and really wish to keep going in this hobby. This plan keeps me occupied mentally and physically, although it's not like I don't have enough to do outside of jewelry making. 

I found some beautiful beads and a package of metal sea creature charms. So far, they have opened up many hours of fun and creativity. Loving it!

Rose gold necklace. Why not? Something different. 

Oregon Duck colors. Black with small green seed beads in between as spacers. 

Nightmare Before Christmas earrings. 

Dragonfly fun. 

Turquoise, natural stones, and freshwater pearl against a Capiz shell.

There are many more completed projects put up in the store this weekend. If you are interested, you can find them all here or join us for fun on the Facebook page called Pearls & Baubles. Thanks! I didn't want to bore anyone here in posting all of the jewelry here. 

***

Terry and I loaded up the car on Friday evening to head for our spot under the leaning blue spruce tree again. It's picnic time! Great dinner of a Reuben sandwich for Terry, and a meat and cheese wrap for me. Chips go with the dinner, along with drinks. I brought sugar-free cookies to enjoy after our meal. Our time in the park is always so nice, so special, that it has become a weekly outing. Our conversation went from how beautiful things looked in the park to our lives in general. All good. All perfect, actually. 

***

I spent hours creating jewelry this weekend after purchasing my new beads and baubles, while Terry enjoyed reading and sitting in his new chair. We headed to Costco to pick up a few things and found this chair for him to use while we were there. It was a must-have! Terry's other camping chair was literally falling apart and becoming a bit too dangerous. The fabric was ripping away from the metal poles. I felt it wouldn't be too long, and I would have a husband sitting on the ground with a torn chair wrapping around him. Not good. 

Yes, it is one of the hammock-type chairs. He is comfortable in his new rocking chair and loves it!

***

Terry has also spent lots of time writing his poetry for yet another book. The poems are creative. We will be letting everyone know when his new book is published and on the market. Meanwhile, his first book is still up for sale, and you can find it here. 

***

Time ticked away too quickly this weekend. I tackled my chihuahua pup to remove some of his nail length because they were out of control! He absolutely hates having his nails clipped, but it's part of life. He's too old and it is far too hot outside to walk him on concrete to keep them filed, so it's the nail clippers for him. 

Lately, I have been eating the Mediterranean diet way, but I was running out of ideas on what to make. I have been missing pizza, so I thought, "Why not make it Mediterranean?" Sounds good to me. Any type of cuisine can fit onto a pizza crust, right? And actually, this was so friggin' good!

The pizza result was so good that we had it again a couple of nights later. The crust was loaded with pizza sauce, tomato pieces, spinach, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese, olives, black beans, and all of it was bundled in love and thrown into the oven. The pizza was served with a few slices of avocado, and all I can say is, "Wow." Oh, the food Gods did sing down on this one! Terry loved it too, making it a great choice for some other night in the future.  

***

We completed our series of Transplant and began the search for something else to watch. Terry brought out a set of DVDs he has and put one in ... it's the old Star Trek series! I used to watch Captain Kirk, Spock, Sulu, and the gang after school each day when I was growing up. This was a childhood memory brought back to life. He has an entire collection of the series, so off we go into another show that we both enjoy. 

Sunday night, we changed things up a bit. Terry reported that he has never seen Armageddon or Independence Day. We found that Prime had both films, so it's movie night! Armageddon was the choice for last night, and the other movie of interest sits in the viewing room for another night. Great movie. I forgot how much I enjoyed Armageddon. 

***

Well, it's off to bed on another Sunday night. Plenty of good memories of the weekend that others may find boring, but it's our time spent together that matters. Nothing much happened over the past four days to report. 

We would like to thank you for reading the blog and wish each and every one of you love, light, and lots of hugs. We never know how much time we have left on this rock, so make it count. 

Until our next post ...

Terry & Vicki Macrae

Partners in crime