We left off with a sick cat! Maddie called their landlords in Turkey, but the person answering the phone didn't speak any English. Maddie had a sense of urgency in her voice. When she realized that there was no way of communicating, she finally sadly hung up the phone. It wasn't too much later that the phone rang. It was her landlords! They were told by their family member who spoke on the phone with Maddie that someone called, speaking English, and mentioned the name of their cat! That was all they needed to know! It turned about this precious cat had been sick, even close to death, a few times before. No worries - just give the medicine, and we'll hope for the best.
The dog also ended up getting sick, so Maddie and William had to give the dog the medicine in a piece of cheese. Easy task! But giving this cat, which was the sweet one of the two, medicine in his mouth was next to impossible, and made Maddie late for work sometimes. But there was no way she was going to let this cat die. That cat was getting the medicine no matter what!
Both cats and the dog, as well as all the plants, lived. The landlords came home, pleased to see all was well once again.
Maddie and William loved their apartment. It had a view of the ski slopes. It had a kiddie-cornered brick fireplace, and wall to wall tan carpeting. Big beautiful windows and a large porch made this place special. Plus, it was their first apartment. They enjoyed playing badmitton in the back yard.
Well, the day finally came when they moved out, as they bought a house in the hopes of having children one day. Their first pregnancy was a miscarriage. Maddie felt disappointed, similar to the feeling she would expect if they drove half way to Disney World, and then had to come back home. William was sad, too, but was determined to try again. Maddie had her first beautiful baby girl, and twenty months later, a second beautiful baby girl!
They grew up with a family pet - a bunny named Thumper. I know - you're probably thinking, "How original." But this bunny was named that because he would thump his back leg really hard when he was upset. Thumper lived for 8 years, and then died when there was a fierce thunder storm. Oh, he didn't die that night, but had a stroke when the lightening hit close to their house, blinded one eye, and caused him to not be able to eat well. Maddie nursed him with a medicine dropper and baby food like the vet said, but it was no use. A trip to the vet's gave him some fluids, but he died anyway. Maddie was a secretary in a hospital working evenings, and when she came home, he was almost dead. She put him on the cozy carpet, and he pulled himself under the drapes and died within a half hour. Maddie, William, and the girls held a funeral for him the next day in their backyard.
Later they had a second bunny, and they had him for a couple years, but he died of the Snuffles, which is like a bunny pneumonia. He lived in a cage in their kitchen, like the other bunny, so they weren't sure how he came down with that. Oh, how Maddie and the girls cried when they brought him to the vets to say good-bye. He was not able to recover from this, because his kidneys were in failure. With their best efforts they couldn't cure him. They had him put to sleep so he wouldn't die a slow, painful death. They later got a kitten at a rescue agency.
Maddie went back to school to become a nurse. Her father would babysit the girls when she went to school. She worked part time at the hospital. She worked in the ICU, and when she graduated, she changed from a secretary to a nurse in that same department. She worked there a couple years, and then went to another hospital and worked in the recovery room. She went back to school to become an advanced practice registered nurse. She eventually worked in family practice.
Maddie went on to write and publish books and music, as she continued working in church ministry, which she did since 7th grade. She played the piano and sang, taught Sunday School, and led a choir. She taught music at a Christian school part time while working in the family practice part time.
They moved to a bigger home, and her girls grew up. Her oldest daughter got married, finished college to work in physical therapy, and was very happy. Her youngest daughter went to college for video production. Both daughters attended the same Christian university (Liberty University) as Maddie, as well as community college. Maddie and William celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.
If you haven't figured it out yet, this was an autobiography, and I changed the names. Everything you read really happened, to the best of my memory. Just a short synopsis, but I hope you enjoyed it!
Below are some pictures to document my story, just to highlight a few things.
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| Our first apartment (we lived downstairs). Notice the greenhouse. These were serious plants (and so beautiful)! |
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| Bridal party in the library before the wedding |
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My dad and I entering the church immediately after the veil fiasco
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| Clearly something was wrong with my veil... |
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| I knew something was wrong with my veil, but had no idea it was that bad! |
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| My husband saving the day with the veil at the end of the ceremony. Girls, if something goes wrong in your wedding, as horrifying as it is at the time, it's something to laugh about later! |
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| Married at last! 6-16-1990 |
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| Our reception, back in the day when a church gym was just fine! |
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| Notice how nicely I am feeding him his cake... |
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| ...and then not so nice! LOL! |
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| My daughter and one of our bunnies |
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| Our first house. |
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| A nursing school graduate, a kindergarten graduate, and a photo bomber! |
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| Hershey Park |
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| Mother-Daughter Banquet 2014 |
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| Yankee Candle 2015 - our 25th wedding anniversary |
God bless our family, and may God bless yours as well.
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