Hello,
In our last newsletter we talked about holidays and all of the different types of families and mothers in our lives. In keeping with the “family” theme, I wanted to share with you how I helped to create a new family of sorts yesterday.
I suspect it is no secret that I am an animal lover and supporter. A quick peek at our Facebook Page will attest to that fact.
 Last week, while reading through Facebook posts one in particular grabbed my attention.
Xtreme Rescue Inc (https://www.facebook.com/xtremerescueinc) was looking for drivers to help transport an abandoned and then rescued elderly Great Dane, Buffy, from Miami to an area north of Tampa where she would live out her days with her new forever mother, Donna. I immediately volunteered and was the 6th and last person in this transport caravan of devoted women and had the honor of introducing Buffy to Donna for the very first time.
I picked up Buffy at a truck stop on I-4 and I-75. This white faced girl was pretty unsteady on her long legs and just made me cry when she put her head in my arms and leaned into me before we lifted her into the back of my car. This of course was followed by more tears when we arrived at Donna’s and Buffy was able to meet her new mom and explore the property for the first time.
Buffy’s story is that her family was unable to keep her when they moved. A generation ago, Buffy would have been euthanized for sure. Luckily, we now have rescue groups and armies of people who work tirelessly to find new homes for these displaced and unwanted pets.
Mental health care, like animal rescue, has come such a long way in a generation. We now have effective ways to help families struggling to parent their children. Buffy’s story made me think of all of the children who are brought to Rice Psychology Group when parents are at their wits end and whole families are suffering.
And we have so many mothers out there to thank for saving the lives of countless animals and children who in past generations would have been unwanted and possibly abandoned or institutionalized.
So as we celebrate our mothers and the mother figures in our lives, let us keep in mind the many roles that they play. Mothers work hard to keep our families together and running smoothly. Hopefully they also find ways to take good care of themselves along the way.
Although mothers are often the ones who initially reach out to RPG for help, we work in partnership with mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and grandparents to ensure that families stay together and thrive.
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