1. FRESH
AIR
Every
morning, Isabella and I slip on our rubber boots and winter coats. Then we trod
out to the chicken coop, a.k.a. the Chicken Chalet, and see if the girls have
laid any eggs. That crisp morning air tastes so good and the pine bedding and
alfalfa in the coop smells great. There’s a certain sweetness to the smell of
alfalfa straw. When I go to Tractor Supply, I like to sniff all the bales of hay
and straw. It’s delightful…and maybe a little weird.
By
afternoon, I’m missing my girls’ sweet feathery faces, so Bella and I boot-up
and head out to the coop. We pet Tiffany and Lily, check their water supply,
and feed levels. In the evening when the girls are settling down on their perch,
I open the back door to say goodnight. I stroke the feathers around their necks
and they coo a soft “bawk, bawk, bawk.” To which I’ve translated, “Goodnight
Mommy.”
2. CARDIOVASCULAR STIMULATION
We
haven’t staked the chickens’ fencing around the coop yet, so naturally I feel
bad for them. What chicken wants to be stuck in their coop all day? So while my
mother was over, we let the girls roam our un-fenced backyard. It went well. We
kept them corralled on my property and were able to put them back into the
Chalet without a hitch. So when Jonathan came home from work I thought, Let’s do it again! So we opened the door
and the girls hopped out. It was going fine, until Isabella grabbed a stick and
began to chase the birds. I’m yelling, “Stop Bella!” But now she’s laughing and
having a blast at seeing those chickens flap and run. I suppose to a two-year-old,
chasing chickens is a real adventure. However, Isabella was spooking them the
wrong way. I tried to jump in front of the girls, but those wily hens
sidestepped me and proceeded to scamper up the lawn of my neighbor behind us. They
were really booking it and my heart was pumping. I thought, Please don’t let my neighbor look out his
window and see me chasing my chickens through his yard! While Jonathan apprehended
Bella and her stick, I managed to herd the girls against my neighbor’s fence and
shoo them in the opposite direction. Flapping and bawking, they made their way
back onto our yard. Lord have mercy! What a workout. Needless to say, I learned
my lesson.
The next day, the chickens played in my garage.
In
December, Jonathan and I suffered a very sad tragedy. I was two and half months
pregnant, when we learned that our baby didn’t have a heartbeat. It has been
devastating for us. Grieving the loss of a child is the deepest pain I’ve ever
experienced. Our baby was expected to be born on July 9th and now I’m
restricted from getting pregnant until possibly July due to the medical issues
that were connected with my molar miscarriage. My sorrow and longing for a baby
has been indeed great. But oddly enough, adopting these two chickens has been like balm to my broken heart. Nurturing and caring for them has been a new and
unexpected way of coping with my grief. When I hold my chickens, lovingly
stroke their feathers, see their eyes close, and feel a soft purr in their
chest, I feel happy.
At
first, I was overwhelmed that if we wanted the two hens, we had to pick them up
within a week. But my spontaneous-no-worries husband was confident that we
could pull it off. I’m glad I trusted his judgment.
Tiffany
and Lily needed a home, but the truth is…I needed them too.
