I am so excited to join the FCM team as a contributor! My name is Jackie, and I became a Fairfield County resident about five and a half years ago. My oldest daughter was one when we moved up from the city, and three years later, we welcomed another little girl, who is now four.
In June, my girls and I moved from our town to another town in Fairfield County. We took our Miniature Schnauzer with us and added two kittens to our crew in October. My girls are so happy to be in the same town as their cousins and aunt (my sister).
I was a stay-at-home mom for five and a half years, which was what I had planned. A year ago, I decided that I was ready to work again, so I started my own business, Mindful Mama Care. I love the new mommies I work with and am excited to continue seeing my business grow.
These days, I manage to be a single mother to two little girls while trying to work and making sure our house doesn’t warrant a trip to Child Protective Services.
There is no typical day in our house. However, there is a typical morning! For about a year, my youngest has been joining me in the middle of the night. She puts a foot on the frame and almost catapults her little body over mine, immediately fast asleep in whatever position she lands in. Often, this is mostly on top of me. I don’t mind this. I often watch her sweet sleeping face and kiss her little eyelid.
I do mind having company in bed when a 5 a.m. or earlier wake-up call is included. Coincidentally, this very event happened yesterday morning. “Colette, unless you have livestock to tend to, this is an unacceptable time to wake up,” I told her, hoping she would take it in and fall back into a deep sleep. Instead, she giggled and asked when she could get the kitties.
I wondered if she got my wit. She rolled her body over mine and let our two kittens out of the basement. I immediately heard their desperate cries for food. No amount of food satisfies them. Colette does not know how to get the metal top off the cans, so she stands in the kitchen laughing and slamming them together while the kittens frantically weave in and out of her legs, crying and clawing for food.
I lay in bed grappling with the right and wrong of the situation. I know morally that the right thing to do is to save the kittens from the torment of watching their food source be slammed in front of their faces, but I cannot muster the energy to get out of bed. Just as I am telling myself that they will survive and it’s okay to go back to sleep for a few minutes, I feel a wet nose on my hand.
My 11-year-old Mini Schnauzer is patiently waiting on the side of my bed to be let outside. Walter is both adorable and very tolerant. He doesn’t ask for much, so I got out of bed and followed him downstairs to let him out. In the kitchen, a very interesting scene unfolded. Colette had both kittens under her arms while she lay on the floor, consoling them. I stepped over them to let Walter out. A totally normal morning…I think!?
