Weekly Update: 7.19.26

Of harvests and losses

It was another hard week for our family. Several of us are still sick. And once I developed symptoms last week, other family members have been getting sick in succession. Thankfully, it isn’t so severe that it requires complete bed rest, but it definitely slows everyone down. No one wants to be out working in the garden or doing light construction with a fever.

With fewer people feeling well, we’ve been getting less done. We’ve been keeping our garden alive, but it is a weedy mess and definitely needs some fertilizing. Still, we were thankful to start harvesting squash, cucumbers, and plenty of peppers this week.

Earlier this week, we found out that our Uncle Tommy passed away. Our maternal great-uncle Thomas Akins has been a follower of this blog since it’s beginning, often cheering us on over on Facebook. While we’ve never lived near enough to know Uncle Tommy very well in person, getting to build a relationship with him online has been one of social media’s blessings. He was our grandpa’s oldest brother, so he knew a ton of family history. My mom and I often peppered him with questions about our family tree and Ozark history. The Akins family settled less than 10 miles up the road from where we live back in 1857. Uncle Tommy grew up in the Springfield area, and he was always full of stories about what the Ozarks were like back then. Uncle Tommy was a devoted Christian. As a young man, he planned to go into the ministry before getting married and entering the business world instead. Still, he carried his love of God with him throughout his life. It overflowed into a kindness for others that could be felt across miles. We miss him already, and we are looking forward to seeing him again someday.

In the midst of everything, we replaced our Mary statue this week. We had ordered one a couple months ago, but the paint had bubbled in the rain and a crack had appeared on her arm. Thankfully, we were still able to return it. After that experience, we opted to purchase a replacement locally. We visited Sunshine Hill Gifts near Willard, and found exactly what we were looking for.

We had a couple feast days this week as well. Since we weren’t feeling great, we didn’t do anything too fancy. We ate a Mohawk corn soup and boiled cornbread — both Native American recipes in honor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. On the feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel — who gave the brown scapular to the Carmelite St. Simon Stock — we made caramel brownie sundaes.

As we were dishing up the sundaes, Bonnie-Jean announced that Tilde was finally having her puppies. Around 9 pm, she delivered a pretty little dark sable pup. We were all excited. It got late, and I went to bed — but I told my sister to wake me in the night if she needed an extra pair of hands. She woke me around 1:45 am. Tilde still hadn’t had another puppy, and she was concerned. I sat with her and watched. She was hardly having contractions, which can happen — dogs can take “breaks”, though it was unusual after only one. She started having regular contractions around 2 am, but she didn’t appear to be making any progress. There were no signs of another puppy. The later it got, the more concerned Bonnie and I became. We prayed. We researched. And we prayed. Once it was light, Bonnie-Jean, Jeremiah, and our Dad piled Tilde and her pup into the car and headed to Springfield. We hoped to take her to Bradford Park Veterinary Hospital, but Jeremiah called ahead, and they said they didn’t take dogs in Tilde’s condition. He called several more places before the Strafford Veterinary Clinic said they would see her.

Once they arrived at the clinic, the staff whisked Tilde right back for an emergency C-section. They tried to put the little puppy in a warm box, but it fussed so much that Bonnie-Jean just held it. Tilde handled the surgery well, but the other puppy didn’t make it. Tilde apparently only had a litter of two — which is why the second puppy couldn’t be delivered properly. Dogs her sized are designed for larger litters, and when there aren’t enough puppies, it can make their contractions ineffective. They were home with Tilde by mid-morning. The experience was a bit traumatic, but we all learned a lot through the process. We are thankful Tilde and her little pup are doing well.

As the week ended, more family members were coming down with fevers, and once again we are tired. I battled a bad headache (hence the lateness of this post), and Grace’s fever had returned. I noticed in my five-year journal that we were sick this time last year, too. I suppose that’s just life sometimes. I’m praying we can all feel better before my dad’s procedure next week.