Yesterday Wesley found himself working in NM and was going to have to stay the night to finish the job. He was close enough to my parents to spend the night with them. My parents must have done something right because not all son-in-laws would pick their inlaws over a hotel. 
So, I’m home alone with the kids. Oh yeah, I guess I better mention that I’ve totally lost my mind. Our little dog, Luke, goes bananas anytime you leave him alone. If I need to go to the grocery store, he barks a loud, high-pitched bark. I take him with me, I leave him in the car and he barks this loud, somebody is hurting me bark. He has extreme anxiety about being left. I think his previous owner must have left him alone entirely too much. I was talking to the lady that boarded Luke this weekend. She raises miniature schnauzers and has a one year old that she never sold. We decide that maybe Luke needs a friend to help him get over his separation anxiety. We came up with a plan to keep her for a week or so and see if she fits our family. I called Wesley to run it past him but he was really busy. I decided to just surpise him and go get her.
So, last night it’s me, the kids, and the dogs. It’s dark and I’m on the phone with my sister-in-law Katie about Clayton’s first birthday cake. I look out towards the back of the house and see head lights shining in the kitchen. I see a truck driving around our pasture. Thank goodness it was a clear night with a full moon. I looked and didn’t recognize the truck. Wesley didn’t mention anyone coming to haul off anything. My heart starts racing and I get off the phone. Run into the garage, grab a pistol, slip on some shoes, and head back through the kitchen and out into the backyard. I looked over the fence to see that the truck has stopped just east of the house. I’m on the phone with Wesley by this time, I haven’t explained what was going on to him yet. I just needed him on the phone to hear whatever was going to happen, happen. I swung the backgate open, and marched out with the pistol by my side and yelled “What are you doing out here?!!” No answer. 
I holler again “Hello, hello, what are you doing???” I raise my hand with the .357 Magnum. I didn’t draw on them, just held it out to let them see this bitch has a gun. I see a man and a woman walk out from the other side of the truck and the man said with a thick German accent “We’re cleaning up the brush over here.” I said “Well did you know this is MY property?” He said “Ohhh, it is?” I begin to realize it it’s the new neighbors or someone they’ve hired. I said “Yes, it is…it starts right there at that telephone pole. I don’t care if you clean up that brush. It just grows because the sprinklers over there water it. But, if you’re going to be driving around out here, you better let me know first. Especially if you’re doing it at night. You scared the shit out of me.” I felt very backwoods, very hillbilly.
But in all sincerity: Who cleans up brush in the dark? Who drives around behind people’s houses when they are doing it? And most importantly, who in the hell doesn’t know where their property begins and ends? I have always known the boundaries of the properties I’ve lived on…and I damn sure didn’t cross them at will in the dark. It’s just common courtesy, isn’t it? I’m not saying I’ve never trespassed. I sure have, I’ve gone on adventures in the country. I’ve looked through abandoned houses. I certainly didn’t go bumping around right behind someone’s obviously occupied house, though. I still can’t get over how ignorant or inconsiderate it was.
So, I’m breathing hard but I’m relieved. I go inside and I realize the new, black dog, Marley, got out the back gate. I told Wesley I had to get off the phone, said “I love you” and hung up. I yell for Marley and the truck is now down the draw behind the house. The man yelled “she’s down here.” The truck then starts to drive up to the house. I wait for them to drive up and they stop. I had assumed they were bringing her to me. They said they didn’t have her and pointed me in the direction she went. Great. Mattie is standing at the back door yelling “Who dat, Momma! Who dat?!” Caden is asleep in his room. I’ve got this friggin heavy pistol and the gun cabinet is unlocked. In the meantime, I’ve got this lady’s dog on the run that I haven’t even paid for! I could imagine having to tell the lady that I lost her. I ran to the garage, slammed the safe shut, and grabbed Mattie up in my arms. I ran after Marley, who has run to the other neighbor’s property. I see her black sillouhete and she is on the run! She doesn’t respond to me at all. I see her continue West. I ran back to the house, woke Caden up, loaded the kids in the car, Luke in the car…and we took off driving and yelling for her. The couple who caused this ordeal were driving on the road and I stopped and asked if they saw Marley. They didn’t. Finally, I came back to the house. I pulled into the drive and could hear her tags rattling in the still, cold night. I saw a shadow come across the neighbors property and finally into ours. I got out of the car. Crouched down and sweetly called her. She came to me. Let me tell you that a hairly little schnauzer can really accumulate stickers. I carried her and the kids back into the house. I managed to get the kids back to bed while holding this porcupine of a dog. I spent the next hour picking stickers off of and out of Marley. Wesley called while I was doing it. I told him about getting Marley and what had happened. I suppose the stress of the night was karma for not checking with him in the first place. 
The doorbell rang later. It was the man and woman. They asked if I found the dog. I appreciated that. They also asked for my number in case they come back to do work. I appreciated that, too. I need to go out and make sure they haven’t been piling trash on our property at the bottom of the draw.
Marley may not work for us because I can’t have a runner. My knee just wont have it. However, since it was her first day and she doesn’t really know me…we’ll keep her on for a bit. I ran it over again in my head and wondered if a gun was necessary. I’ve decided it was because it could’ve been people cracked out on drugs. I then decided that a pistol was a poor choice. While it provided me with the courage to confront whoever they were and elicit a response, if I had needed to use it I would’ve been screwed. It wasn’t loaded. I’ve decided the next time I feel the need to pull a gun for protection, I’m reaching for the shotgun and will be sure to make sure I’ve got shells in it and in my pocket.
I’ve become very dependent on Wesley since we’ve been together. He does all of the “protecting” around here. I got to be a girl when he killed the snake a few years back, if there is a spider or something manly or gross to be done, he does it. We were loading a trailer a few weeks ago and I fumbled around with the straps. Wes asked if I had forgotten everything my Daddy taught me. I’m glad to know that in his absence, I’m not the sit back and be scared while we wait for the sheriff to come see about it person. I’m the take charge and see exactly what the hell is going on person.
Love, love, love to you all!
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