My daughter, the youngest of my three children, was born 22 years ago. I still can’t forget the awesome feeling of giving birth. Even if it was the third time, it’s still a unique experience for any mother.
It’s been that long that I was in that wonderful state. My two grown up boys have long standing relationships with their current girlfriends, but I don’t see them settling down yet. I keep this quiet desire for them to please consider marriage now while I know that I can still play with my grandchildren! But as I watch them so engrossed in their careers, friends and single-blessedness, I tell myself it’s still going to be a long ride. Something happened that made me hitch on that ride sooner than expected.
Three days ago, my dear labrador Kaela gave birth to seven healthy pups. You may ask: “How can you compare a mother giving birth to that of a dog?” But I tell you, there’s really no difference. Love makes no difference.
Kaela came into my life when she was two months old. She’s now three years and 4 months. As a widow with grown up children, I have treated her as my fourth baby. So, to witness her giving birth was a welcome experience! God honored my heart’s desire to feel great love once again…like a real granny!
May 9, 11:30am, Kaela’s temperature dropped to 36.8 and that’s the big signal that she was near giving birth. Earlier the day, she already lost her appetite for food (first signal) and was scratching the wall, the stairs and the floor (second signal). So I rushed her to the veterinary hospital. I have no experience at all attending to a dog giving birth and I didn’t want to take a chance. For an hour, nothing happened so with the vet’s promise to call me once she goes into labor, I went home.
5:00pm. No calls yet. I was getting jittery. What if she’s not able to push? Wow, a caesarian section is expensive. What if she gives birth tonight yet? I told myself I would call the hospital in 5 minutes but the ringing of the phone beat me to it. The vet calmly told me, “Kaela’s giving birth. The second one just came out.”
Oh boy! Had there been a closed circuit TV in my house, it would have shown me in a harassed state. I made two circles in the living room, talking to myself and assuring that I could still catch Kaela giving birth. I got my purse, closed my computer, locked the door and latched the gate in two minutes.
While flagging a cab, I was already calling my daughter to proceed to the hospital. At least there would be one of us to watch Kaela give birth.
Inside the cab, I made another call to my sister. I caught the cab driver glancing my way. I told him to please put on speed. He understood why after hearing my blabber that Kaela was giving birth. He stepped on the accelerator.
There are two hospitals in Ramos Street. One is the dog and cat hospital where Kaela was confined. Opposite it is Velez Hospital. Yes, for human beings.
When I told the cab driver to stop in front of the animal hospital, his eyes widened. Only then did he realize that Kaela is a dog. I could imagine him shaking his head and mutter, “Oh geez! And I was speeding my cab for a dog!”
Some people may not understand but my adrenalin was rushing when I got to the whelping room. The vet cautioned me not to show my face to Kaela and to just peep through the glass window. My feelings were all scrambled: excitement (How many pups will there be?), concern (How’s Kaela coping?), happy (At least, she was able to push!) and afraid (What if there will be casualties?)
For the next four hours, Kaela was able to bear five more. All seven puppies were beautiful and healthy. Looking at all of them I felt I was in the United Nations: three off-white + one yellow + three black puppies.
At the end of the night, I still had that smile on my face. I told my daughter that we did something good in taking care of Kaela: grooming her well, feeding her properly and providing her a good shelter. All in all, it is love. And out of that, Kaela brought out seven of her own with love. Wow!
Again I say, it’s been 20 years since I felt the exhilarating experience of motherhood. Any situation that comes closest to it can trigger the emotions to well up again. It’s innate. For me, Kaela allowed me to experience that mother’ love again.
I thank God for revealing to me that I still have a mother’s nurturing spirit —whether it be for a human or an animal. I thank my daughter for helping me raise Kaela all this time. I thank Kaela for making me believe in love and hope even in my widowhood.
“Three things will last forever– faith, hope, and love– and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Today is Mother’s Day—a celebration of love. What a wonderful treat for me.
Thank you for life. Thank you for my children. And thank you for this latest gift in the family.