Stranger Things

Often I wonder why some things happen the way they do. Occasionally I get an answer, sometimes I gain understanding. More often than not I never quite understand.

I have several boxes of baby clothes that once fit Unruly and I have had them just sitting around for years, unable to figure out what to do with these most adorable baby clothes. I'll admit to a little bit of nostalgia here, too. I've been somewhat reluctant to let my baby go, even though she's becoming a young lady now, not my chubby cherub any longer. I also have a few baby items that have been taking up space that need a new home.

I decided I don't want to move these things. As nostalgic they may be, I'm not lugging them from one storage room to another. Pictures and my scrapbooks move much easier than boxes of clothes, high chairs and strollers.

I didn't want to just drop them off at a Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Don't get me wrong, these are fantastic charitable organizations, but not exactly what I was looking for. I wanted to find someone who could really, really use the clothes, not just someone hunting for a bargain.

So, I called a barn buddy, a woman I know who is not only a teacher but also extremely active in her church and in the community. Of all the people I know, she would be able to point me in the right direction.

And point she did. Did I mention things happen for a reason?

Remember, I've been putting off doing something with these boxes of clothes for YEARS.

A friend of hers, who is in labor with her first child, a daughter, as I write this, lost her home and everything she owns in a house fire Sunday night. She lost everything, including the family cat. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for this family, in the hospital bringing a new life in to the world, but without a home to bring that baby to when it's all said and done.

She is getting Unruly's baby clothes and a few other baby items I have around, as well as a set of dishes and cutlery I was planning to be rid of before "The Move." It's a nice set of dishes, but I have two sets of exactly the same thing and an overabundance of silverware. Hubby and I, oddly, have the same taste and when we moved in together, discovered we had exactly the dishes and silverware! So I've been lugging an extra set around with me for 10 years, meaning to get rid of it but never quite getting that far.

I can think of no better use for this stuff, and this is exactly the kind of use I had in mind. Someone who is truly in need, and not just in want.

There is still a tree in my house, and I have pictures. I'll post those a bit later, when the Internet at home is up and running. Massive electrical outages are still in effect in the entire region and cleanup is far from finished.

Four cows lost their lives in the storm. The top of a silo blew off and landed on a herd of black and white dairy cows, breaking the backs of four of them and injuring several more. Very sad.

I found a couple of dead songbirds in our yard, also victims of the storm and Hubby spotted a mink (Yes! A MINK!) bouncing through the grass near the flooded creek. Surely his home was under water.