30 September 2010
It was a lovely autumn day with sunlight filtering in the windows of the old manor house. The thundering feet of a four year old rushing up to the third floor broke the morning silence. When the feet stopped moving, a surprisingly booming voice came from the girl standing outside her aunt's bedroom door. "Auntie Rhi!!!!!!!!! Timea get up!! We gotsa go!!"
Rhiannon Brock grumbled and rolled out of her bed. She was wiping the sleep from her eyes as she opened the door and peered at Maggie. "Shh....you'll wake the whole house, Maggie!"
"Too late," came the grumble from the redhead in pigtails, who was leaning in the doorway of the next room.
Hazel eyes peered up at the pajama clad Nicole. Maggie grinned. "Morning, Aunt Nikki!"
Nicole couldn't help herself, she laughed. "How about we get some breakfast, kiddo?"
Maggie shook her head. "No tanks, Gran made me pancakes with...." her small face scrunched in consternation, "the gooey stuff!"
"Syrup," the sisters said in tandem.
Within half an hour, the entire household was awake and life on the farm was in full swing once again. Nicole had charge of the household for the day. Colleen, Rhi and Maggie were on their way to Riverview Clinic. Each had a different plan in mind. Rhi was going to start her job with the animal therapy program. Maggie was looking forward to visiting with the younger patients and painting, can't forget painting! Colleen was going to be visiting one of Anya's staff, maybe more than one.
On arrival at Riverview, Rhiannon took charge of her niece so her mother could pay a call or two.
"Come on, Maggie," Rhi said as she shepherded Maggie to kennel area. "You get to see the dogs for now."
"What 'bout paintin'?"
"Soon as Mama gets done, she will take you. For now, you can help show some of the younger kids how to talk to the dogs."
Maggie's expression was incredulous. For her, talking to animals was as much a part of life as breathing. So far, she didn't possess her mother's extraordinary empathic gift with animals. However, the little girl had learned which meow meant the cats wanted food and which bark meant one of the dogs was warning of of potential danger. That in itself was not a huge accomplishment, people did that everyday. Maggie, though, was becoming one of the people that could answer them in their own language. To her aunt, the question Mairead raised was a perfectly sound one, "In people words or dog ones?"
"Both," Rhi replied.
Maggie's face lit up like a sunrise on a summer morning. "We gonna teach 'em all to bark and whiffer and stuff??"
"That's whimper and we'll see." Rhi chuckled as she lead Maggie out to the kennels.
There were plans for a small stable in the near future, but for now, horses were brought in for the patients that needed them. Riding was helpful for the leg muscles, dexterity in the hands, and, perhaps, the most important thing, building self confidence. Rhi's first session was with five patients. Two were wheelchair bound for the time being, one had crutches; these were the physical rehab cases. Of the two remaining, one was a little girl about Maggie's age that been physically abused and barely spoke. That one tugged at Rhi's heartstrings. The last was an elderly woman that had knee replacement surgery and was in the final stages of her physical therapy before being released from outpatient care.
"We shoulda brought Rassle!" Maggie exclaimed.
That brought a smile to Rhi's face. "Maybe next time, but for now, we have Trixter. She's Riddle's great granddaughter. "
The four year old put her determined face on. "Where's da leash! I'm walkin' a dog!"
She tried not to chuckle as her niece headed for the kennels to get the show on the road. It promised to be a good day.
It was a lovely autumn day with sunlight filtering in the windows of the old manor house. The thundering feet of a four year old rushing up to the third floor broke the morning silence. When the feet stopped moving, a surprisingly booming voice came from the girl standing outside her aunt's bedroom door. "Auntie Rhi!!!!!!!!! Timea get up!! We gotsa go!!"
Rhiannon Brock grumbled and rolled out of her bed. She was wiping the sleep from her eyes as she opened the door and peered at Maggie. "Shh....you'll wake the whole house, Maggie!"
"Too late," came the grumble from the redhead in pigtails, who was leaning in the doorway of the next room.
Hazel eyes peered up at the pajama clad Nicole. Maggie grinned. "Morning, Aunt Nikki!"
Nicole couldn't help herself, she laughed. "How about we get some breakfast, kiddo?"
Maggie shook her head. "No tanks, Gran made me pancakes with...." her small face scrunched in consternation, "the gooey stuff!"
"Syrup," the sisters said in tandem.
Within half an hour, the entire household was awake and life on the farm was in full swing once again. Nicole had charge of the household for the day. Colleen, Rhi and Maggie were on their way to Riverview Clinic. Each had a different plan in mind. Rhi was going to start her job with the animal therapy program. Maggie was looking forward to visiting with the younger patients and painting, can't forget painting! Colleen was going to be visiting one of Anya's staff, maybe more than one.
On arrival at Riverview, Rhiannon took charge of her niece so her mother could pay a call or two.
"Come on, Maggie," Rhi said as she shepherded Maggie to kennel area. "You get to see the dogs for now."
"What 'bout paintin'?"
"Soon as Mama gets done, she will take you. For now, you can help show some of the younger kids how to talk to the dogs."
Maggie's expression was incredulous. For her, talking to animals was as much a part of life as breathing. So far, she didn't possess her mother's extraordinary empathic gift with animals. However, the little girl had learned which meow meant the cats wanted food and which bark meant one of the dogs was warning of of potential danger. That in itself was not a huge accomplishment, people did that everyday. Maggie, though, was becoming one of the people that could answer them in their own language. To her aunt, the question Mairead raised was a perfectly sound one, "In people words or dog ones?"
"Both," Rhi replied.
Maggie's face lit up like a sunrise on a summer morning. "We gonna teach 'em all to bark and whiffer and stuff??"
"That's whimper and we'll see." Rhi chuckled as she lead Maggie out to the kennels.
There were plans for a small stable in the near future, but for now, horses were brought in for the patients that needed them. Riding was helpful for the leg muscles, dexterity in the hands, and, perhaps, the most important thing, building self confidence. Rhi's first session was with five patients. Two were wheelchair bound for the time being, one had crutches; these were the physical rehab cases. Of the two remaining, one was a little girl about Maggie's age that been physically abused and barely spoke. That one tugged at Rhi's heartstrings. The last was an elderly woman that had knee replacement surgery and was in the final stages of her physical therapy before being released from outpatient care.
"We shoulda brought Rassle!" Maggie exclaimed.
That brought a smile to Rhi's face. "Maybe next time, but for now, we have Trixter. She's Riddle's great granddaughter. "
The four year old put her determined face on. "Where's da leash! I'm walkin' a dog!"
She tried not to chuckle as her niece headed for the kennels to get the show on the road. It promised to be a good day.