Where do you draw the line???

I love my pet goose, Peep-Peep.  He arrived as an egg.  I incubated that egg (along with 11 others that didn't make it!)..I was there every step of the way when he first "pipped" (a small crack in the shell...signaling the beginning of his emergence into the world) .  I monitored his progress (or lack there of) for nearly 48 hrs., before I had to make a tough decision:  either REMOVE him from the egg shell....which, if done incorrectly could KILL HIM...or watch him die from dehydration and exhaustion ANYWAY.  With these as my only options, I figured it was worth the gamble.  I carefully helped him extract himself from the confining shell. 

This, was the end result of my diligence...and HIS will to live!  (Isn't he CUTE??!) I named him "Peep-Peep" because for those nearly 48 hrs he was trapped in his shell, his constant cries were "peep-peep!  peep-peep!!"  Well, as time went on, he became VERY attached to me and my Honey.  We fixed him up a "home" in a large plastic box.

He seemed to be a happy gosling.  We were happy and loved to come home each night and play with him.  We'd take him out of his box and let him roam around the house a little while (supervised, of course!) 

He quickly out-grew his plastic box!  Fortunately, the immediate "back yard" was already chain-linked fenced.  We had to move our beloved little Peep-Peep outside!!  The first night was HORRIBLE...for ME.  He weathered the transition just fine.  I had a sleepless night, worried that "something" might get him during the night!   Nothing did, of course, and after several nights, I was finally able to once again sleep peacefully, know Peep was going to be alright. 

As the weeks turned into months, Peep was finally big enough to learn to swim.  Our first excursions to the pond were successful and Honey and I believed it would be easy to eventually relocate him to the pond.  WRONG!

After a 'close encounter' with a very large catfish, Peep was terrified of the pond & would do anything he could think of to avoid the pond!!  We even physically picked him up & carried him to the pond & pitched him in the water.  He would frantically made a run for 'home'...he never wanted to leave the confines of the back yard.  Poor peep!!  I felt so sorry for him & wanted to him to be able to enjoy water like a normal goose....so I got the kiddie pool out of storage, put it in his yard, and filled it up.  OH, MY! He was one happy little goose! 

He lived for many happy months in the backyard & we eventually had to get him a larger pool.  He sat in his pool for hours each day....content to view the world from the safety of his chain-link enclosure.

I worried about his having no shade while swimming, so devised a 'make-shift' cabana for him. 

The Beginning of the End

He loved and married a small town girl, and left his father's house, as young men have done throughout the ages.  Like most young men, he was full of hopes & dreams of the future.  He was a quiet man and kept a lot of his feelings hidden behind an expressionless face.  Many people thought he was just 'unfeeling'.  Truth was....he was quietly, and privately, assessing everything...in his own way.  He had the most gentle of hearts, and felt things very deeply.  Those who knew him well, knew this...those who didn't, thought it a weakness.  

As time passed...there were those who felt they had to do his thinking for him....make his decisions for him....direct his every move.  Afterall, he was weak & incapable of directing the course of his own destiny!   Those people were his wife's people...how could he defy them?  Those were people SHE loved & trusted.   Surely, THEY wanted what was best for both of them...right??    Her people didn't trust him to make good decisions, so they made his decisions for him.  For many, many years....from many, many directions, all he heard was "this is what you need to do"...."if you're smart, you'll do what I'm telling you".   And so it went. 

His father, who loved him deeply, tried to open his eyes to the reality that 'not everyone is thinking of your best interests' ...'.not everyone is your friend' .  The boy, on the other hand, as children often do, felt wiser than his father; denounced his father; refused to accept his father's guidance; refused to believe that 'her' people, who professed to love him, had ulterior motives for their actions.  The son always sought the best in everyone he met.  He could not fathom that there were those, who while professing to be his 'friend'....would in reality, be seeking their own gain.   They all had their own agenda.  The boy couldn't see past his own big heart.  It was the beginning of his end!

A great divide began to separate father & son.  The son believed the father to be pious, selfish, and self-centered.  The father believed it was best to leave the son alone....to let him find his own way; make his own mistakes & learn from them, rather than continue to widen the chasm that was forming between them.  God knows, the boy already had enough people telling him what he 'needed to do'.  And so it was.

I am a witness to this tale, and I tell it as I saw it.   The son was as stubborn as his father!  Neither seemed to know how to bridge the gap between them.   Years went by.   With each passing year, the gap got wider.  'Others' in the community knew of the rift, but did nothing other than pass judgement on father & son.  The 'others' knew they could never manipulate the father...but the son was an easy mark....and they all took advantage! 

The son had finally reached his saturation point.  He needed to find an escape...a release...from the constant demands of  'the others'.  Because of the magnitude of the divide between he & his father, he didn't feel he could turn toward 'home'.  He instead, turned to alcohol.  For a little while...it worked, but as we all know, it's only a very temporary escape.   Eventually, no amount of alcohol brought the release the son needed.  Eventually, even his 'friends' refused to take his calls.  Word was out that if it's after 5pm, and a weekend...he's drunk.  The 'others' began to avoid him.  They didn't know how to deal with him.  They didn't WANT to deal with him.  When he was drunk...he was of no use to them! 

In his final hours, he made many, many phone calls.  No one answered.  Would it have made a difference?  I think not.   He was not meant for this world.   His heart was too kind.  He made the choice to seek the ultimate escape, and took his own life.  INSTANT RELIEF from the pain & grief he had lived with for so many years! 

Those of us left behind are still in shock.  We will always ask the 'what if's'?  We will always wonder if there was something more we could have done to help the son find happiness in this life.   We will mourn, forever, what could have been.  But those of us who loved him will find the answers to our questions BECAUSE we loved him.  The 'others' ...well, maybe there are no answers for them.   Who knows?? 

Funny how things work out.  As tragic as this has been....the 'good' from this horrible event has already surfaced.  The healing has begun...at least for the family.  

The 'others' are showing their true colors.  Like vultures, they have swooped in and are casting lots for all the son's worldly possessions.   None of them have considered the father's feelings....or the sisters'.   But all of US have declared, it's only material THINGS.  But, NO ONE can take away our memories!  No one can sell them or trash them.  No one can put a price tag on them.  They are ours FOREVER.....so go ahead....TAKE IT ALL!  SELL IT ALL!  And just know, that when all is said and done....YOU will never have what WE have had with him!!