In the Bitter Cold

It's been a particularly busy week. It has been uncharacteristically bitterly cold this week, which makes life hard on us, and hard on the animals as well. We keep a reserve water system for animals, in the event that a power outage makes pumping water from the well difficult, and its pumphouse has frozen solid. My greenhouse is too cold, and even with Delongi heaters, it's still near freezing. We are running back and forth ensuring that all the animals have fresh water and are warm enough.
The week was also punctuated by my driving home in broad daylight, and by a young doe jumping directly into the front fiberglass bumper of the car. She received a head injury and died at the scene. I was horrified, and came home. This was also Matthew's car that I was driving. In some families, the kids borrow cars and return to the parents needing body work, but in ours the opposite seems to be true. In 2001, my husband totalled my daughter's car when a deer jumped into the windshield, and now I have been driving while Matt's car got damaged. I honestly never saw the doe until I heard a terrible thud. I know that periodically the herd must be thinned, because otherwise, in winter they will starve, but I still don't like hitting these poor animals.
Also this week, a woman with whom I am acquainted is receiving chemotherapy for cancer, and had decided this week not to continue. She tolerated earlier treatments, but the last one made her terribly sick. I was thinking about what Daniel might think I should do. I put together a "Chemotherapy Survival Kit" for her and her dog. I had planned to do this at the Dollar Tree, but I found myself at Wal-Mart instead, so this one was made there. It had a clear carrying case, kleenex, treats and a toy for her dog, chapsticks of different flavors, chocolate, cookies, Progresso chicken soups, etc. I subscribe to the idea that sometimes, even a very small kindness can change the perspective of someone suffering or in difficulty, especially someone alone. It is my hope she chooses to continue. She certainly was amused and touched by her new kit.
We are surviving, but we miss our loved ones, especially in this season.