Animals

Scribbles and Doodles

LaShelle

I’ll never forget the day Nikolai came home and asked me if I thought he was stupid. Tears were trickling down his cheeks, his mouth was twisted in emotional agony, and his sunshine blue eyes had turned into wells of pain. The mother bear within was ready to rip someone apart.

“Kids can be brutal.” I soothed as I gathered him into my arms and tried to hide bitter tears of my own.

The ride home had been filled with silence. I kept asking about his day but the set of his jaw spoke volumes. The moment we walked through our front door his words came tumbling out. I sat with him in my lap, little fingers curled around mine and listened for him to tell me the entire sordid tale.

Nikolai (Doodles as we call him) had been sitting at his desk, pencil in hand when the teacher asked him to write his name at the top of the page. His mind went blank. He began to fidget and get nervous.

“Don’t you know how to write your own name? What are you stupid or something?” His young classmate sneered as all eyes turned to look at him.

Nikolai froze. He didn’t know how to react. He just sat there gripping his pencil until his knuckles turned white.

“You ARE stupid! Who doesn’t know how to write their own name? Stupid people, that’s who!” The girl taunted.

Thankfully his best friend whispered into his ear “It’s okay Nikolai. I’ll do it for you.”

Unfortunately the damage had been done and the little girl began to make every day a nightmare from that moment on. She called him names, singled him out, humiliated him, and alienated Nikolai from his classmates. Meanwhile, I wrote his teacher on a regular basis in an attempt to resolve it. His seat was moved somewhere else in the classroom… but nothing helped. My happy bubbly boy was being pulled into depression.

I spent most mornings begging him to go to school. I gave him pep talks and let him take a stuffed animal with him so he wouldn’t feel alone. He carried a stuffed fox lovingly called Foxy everywhere he went. Yet the boy who normally never meet a stranger began to have trouble making friends. Eventually he stopped trying and I grew increasingly concerned. He was sad constantly.

“Please mom, please don’t make me go. I hate school. I really don’t want to go. I don’t feel safe. Kids hate me.”

I would sit in the car, put my face in my hands and cry about forcing him to be there. I had meetings with the principal, I took him to do as many fun things as possible but nothing made an impact. More than being bullied, Nikolai had been struggling to learn. I knew in the depth of my soul that my son had a learning disability. No matter how many times his teacher and I went over words and letter sounds, the boy wasn’t grasping them.

Second grade came and brought new beginnings… but the battle ground was much of the same. More bullies and the struggle to learn was forever present as it hung like darkness over his head. Outside our favorite park one afternoon, my husband had a conversation with our son about our farm animals and their mutual desire to get another dog. Our beautiful Moose has been living in her golden years. She’s gray around the muzzle and we give her pain medicine for arthritis. She is forever the light of our lives since we rescued her from the Humane Society in Atlanta (long before we moved to our little farm in the woods).

Tallulah is my service dog. She loves to play with Nikolai but she gets overly excited and her size sometimes knocks him over. While they’re two peas in a pod… Niki isn’t allowed to feed her or walk her. Tulla’s job lies in helping me monitor my health and she takes it seriously.

Nikolai wanted a dog. The more I thought about it and the struggles my son had been enduring… the more I got on board. Plus, I was outnumbered two to one! I spent a good amount of time researching because it’s not easy for a dog to fit into the established crew on our farm. The right dog needed to be outgoing but friendly. They would need to be able to get along with Moose and Tallulah, while learning to live around chickens and livestock.

Most of all… the right kind of dog needed to be small enough for an (almost) eight year old boy to handle but have a big enough personality to be a best friend for life. All of which is a rather tall order for a dog. It took a lot of internet browsing on my computer at the local coffee shop to find somewhere to take Nikolai to look for a dog while checking off our primary requirements.

When my husband and I picked Nikolai up from school, we didn’t tell him where we were going. The winding mountain drive to Blue Ridge forced us to squash his questions about our plans for the afternoon under the premise that we needed to run some errands (which wasn’t a lie). Since we had already agreed to get him a dog, Nikolai sat in the back seat excitedly discussing how he had told his entire class.

It wasn’t until a little pal named Einstein came across my Facebook feed which put the Humane Society of Blue Ridge Georgia on my radar. The almost all white dog looked similar to a baby Yoda with his cocky little ears. He was too cute to pass up an introduction. The bonus being H.S.B.R had a couple of other dogs for us to see as well (just in case).

“Are we at a doctor’s office?” He asked when we pulled up outside a red brick building. His small face etched in confusion.

“Lets go inside and find out. Tell the lady at the desk that you would like to meet Einstein.” I smiled feeling a little tearful.

The beauty of looking for a forever friend is keeping an open mind. Sometimes the dog you have your heart set on or imagine yourself with… isn’t the one that’s right for you. Einstein wasn’t a good fit for Nikolai. He was fearful, and nervous after having been abused by kids. Although Niki loved him right away… it was clear to me that Nikolai wasn’t what the sweet guy needed. It took some convincing on my part but Doodles agreed to meet the second contender… a scrappy six month old pup the Humane Society lovingly named, Dunn.

From the moment this large eared, funny faced little dog walked into Nikolai’s life… it was as if the two of them were made for one another. He bounced his way into Niki’s arms, licked his jaw and Nikolai erupted into a fit of giggles.

“This is my dog!” Nikolai proclaimed proudly, and as if he always had been Nikolai’s dog… the two of them walked to our car together.

On the playground after school, Nikolai was surrounded by children. His puppy (who never meets a tiny human he doesn’t like) had his stubby tail going wild. Kids were laughing, wiping slobber off their palms and cheeks, while Nikolai’s wing-man helped him make more friends than he knew what to do with. The tough days he had at school were meet with kind eyes and a playful gesture when he came home.

The nightmares about the man who broke into our house, were soothed by having this little dog rest beside him. Nikolai isn’t afraid to be alone in his bedroom anymore which is exactly what I was hoping for. He isn’t afraid of the dark anymore either because if something is amiss… his partner will let him know.

The learning disability may always be there. I myself have struggled with dyslexia since I was young. Yet the burdens people face in life aren’t quite as heavy when they have a friend to share it with. There’s something spectacular about dogs… they are capable of loving unconditionally. It doesn’t matter what you look like or what you struggle with, they only care about who you are as a person.

As I sat scribbling down notes for a blog post… Nikolai asked me to brainstorm names for his (at that moment) future dog. I thoughtfully suggested that we call his new friend-to-be Scribbles. He pondered for a moment, and with a huge grin… exclaimed that Scribbles was perfect (and he was).

Notes from the author:

* Scribble’s introduction to Tallulah & Moose, and the rest of the farm couldn’t have gone any better. All three dogs are the best of friends.

* Apologies for not being on time with my post this week, I skipped last week because it was my birthday, and I was late this week because Niki gave me a cold virus from school. I’ll be back to posting regularly on Tuesday’s at 10:00 AM this next week. Thanks for being patient with me!

* If you haven’t seen the post my friend Jen from BosssyBabe did about me and my little farm blog… you’re missing out! I answer a ton of questions about how I got to where I am, why I write the way I do, and what drives me. Take a moment to stop by and check her out plus… her blog is down right incredible so read some of her other posts as well. She’s one of my favorites!

Nikolai, Moose, and two of our six cats Tetley the calico, and Mousey the tuxedo
Moose & Scribbles on our morning walks
Tallulah & Scribbles passed out after an hour long play session
The day Scribbles & Nikolai became partners
A bright future & an autumn walk
Watching me scribble blog notes while waiting for his kid to get home from school.

Published by LaShelle

Tea drinking, mountain living, wife, and mother. Writing and photographing my way through through the south.

100 thoughts on “Scribbles and Doodles”

  1. Oh my goodness – I love this beautiful story about Nikolai and his dog. I ache for all the bullying he’s (you all have had to go through) but I love the wonderful solution. This sentence hit me right in the heart, “The tough days he had at school were meet with kind eyes and a playful gesture when he came home.” Beautiful!

    Happy birthday, LaShelle!! Hope your cold is better too. We have our back to school colds too. Sending all my best.

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    1. Thanks girlfriend!! I’ve missed you and your blog immensely. I’m still trying to recover from this stupid virus. Since I have to go to the coffee shop to post things it was posted later than usual this week. Next week I hope to be in better form! Thanks for all the love my friend. I’ll get caught up soon

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  2. What an incredible story! I’m so sorry your sweet son has been through so much. Why are kids so mean?? (I actually know it has a lot to do with feeling helpless in their own lives and lack of mutual respect being modeled at home, but I hate it for our sensitive loving kiddos). Your new pup looks like he fits right in. I’m in love with the autumn walk photo. It’s stunning!!

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      2. I have several friends who shoot professionally ONLY on their phones. They look so perfect and yet they shoot landscapes WITH THEIR CELLPHONES. mind blown! It never fails to knock my socks off.

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  3. Awww. I felt so bad for Nikolai with all that bullying, and then the miracle of Scribbles almost had me in tears of joy. Dogs are just amazing. Those two make a wonderful dynamic duo. Loved this story, Lashelle. Thanks for the smile.

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  4. School bullies are the absolute worst! We worried about our son about the same age as yours. He’s dyslexic and faced a lot of challenges. But he worked hard and developed a love of reading. The boy who hated reading, now regularly reads deep philosophical and modern warfare books (he’s in Marines) for his own pleasure, that I would never even think of trying to read. Similarly, when he was having some of his biggest challenges, we took in Nittany, our Lhasa apso-Bichon Frise. She helped the whole family, but especially my son’s confidence. Hang in there, have faith. Lovely post.

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    1. That’s so beautiful Brian!! I’m thankful you shared that with me and what an amazing dog your family has. Congratulations on raising a fine young man, please thank him for his service for me. My soldier secretly HATES being thanked for his service and never knows what to say but I think it’s important that it’s said regardless 🥰🤗

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      1. The thank you – Oh my goodness, it’s the exact same here. He doesn’t like to make a big deal of it. We visited him in CA last year and we were someplace that offered a military discount, he wouldn’t take advantage of it. I had to ask for him. He says he didn’t serve for that reason.

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    1. Thanks for commenting sweet friend!! I’m so glad you found this relatable ☺️ a s I’m really glad that you’ve had some furry friends to help you through hard times too. They are the absolute best!

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  7. Thank you for sharing this. But mostly thankyou for caring about your child enough to keep working on finding solutions and trying to help him socialise. I cant tell you how happy and emotional it made me to read about how well you care for him and how much effort you were willing to go to to make things right for him. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks for reading new friend!! I’m so glad you resonated with my post today and that it moved you to comment, and follow me. That means so much! Animals are a big part of our lives on our little farm. They’ve brought a world of joy and understanding into my life in a way that people aren’t always capable of. I hope they’ve done the same for you!

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      1. We live in a flat in Sydney, so there’s no animals we can keep that would be in the best interests of the animals. However, we DO have fish, and the ambition to buy a little farm and grow vanilla and maybe raise hogs or sheep. Life has so many opportunities. Thank you for looking after your babies. It inspires me to read about them.

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    1. They can be so awful but unfortunately that’s how life goes. Not everyone is going to like you which is something I had to have a conversation with Nikolai about. Both kids and adults are mean and I can only imagine some of these kids learn this crap at home. I keep reminding Nikolai to be compassionate because as mean as they are to him… I’ll bet someone at home is far worse. Having someone to lean on makes life worthwhile. ❤️

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  9. So Lovely write up story. So interested sharing your son doing with dog. Beautiful photo shoot. I like frist picture. Amazing morning walk. Wonderful you care for son& dogs. I like story.

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  10. As a retired teacher, I could barely stomach the part of Nikolai being made fun of in his classroom. I’m typically a great supporter of educators, and I think most do a difficult job well. I know teachers can’t be everywhere, but there is no way this should happen in a child’s classroom. I might expect some of it on a playground in a less controlled environment, but NEVER in a child’s class. Every child there should feel safe and loved. It’s up to the teacher to set the tone to ensure that all the kids understand that everyone in this classroom matters and is like family. Sorry about the rant, but the number one thing any teacher should do is to create a loving environment.

    Dyslexia, as you well know, is not a death sentence. The school should be providing him support for that too. It’s rare to hear a child his age who doesn’t like school. (upper elementary school is when you lose some, but not usually at this age.) I’m almost positive, without being there, that this has everything to do with his environment. I know you will continue to advocate for him because you’re a good mom, but the school has to do better. Kids aren’t often moved in the middle of a school year, but they might switch him into a new classroom. I would definitely be asking involved parents about the good teachers in the school because the y will able to offer you advice. Our school tried to honor parent teacher requests (before the start of a school year).

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    1. I feel the exact same way that you do. Unfortunately his teacher had a LOT of bad apples in her class. She was completely overwhelmed and brand-new to the school. While Nikolai is still struggling this year, his new teacher seems to have a better handle on things. Nikolai actually feels more comfortable going to her when things arise. I can’t say that I like this elementary school. It has some positives but it also has a lot of downsides. I’ve had to advocate to the school over and over again to get Nikolai the help I KNOW he needs. Unfortunately because it took them so long to do something about it and listen to me… He’s more behind now than ever. Which complicates things even more with other students. While he is reading right now… It’s extremely slow. He struggles to remember some letter sounds and letter blends. He has trouble memorizing sight words. I have him read to me every night at home… and I let him take his time. He’s being pulled from class twice a day into a smaller group for more specialized hands on teaching. Yet the school will not test him for a learning disability even though his teachers and ALL of his progress that they monitor points to that being the issue. Last year was so hard I can’t tell you how many times I sobbed over trying to get him to go to school. This year he has bad days but they are not nearly as prevent. I had a sit down conversation with the principal last year (MULTIPLE) times and told them that a 6/7 year old kid shouldn’t be telling his mom that he doesn’t feel safe at school. The entire thing left a horrible taste in my mouth. I’ve been fighting the school every step of the way and documenting everything so I have proof.

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      1. Are there alternatives, or is this the only school in your area? I’ve heard enough that I would make me consider a different choice. I’m glad that things are somewhat better now. I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but the right teacher can make all the difference. I certainly had experiences where children completely turned around in my room. I’m not telling you this to pat myself on the back, but a child’s attitude toward school is EVERYTHING! When they like their teacher and their classmates, they’re happy. This, in turn, relieves a lot of stress from you and your husband. Nobody wants to see their children hurting or not feeling good about themselves.

        By the way, I’m all about resiliency, and it’s empowering when kids overcome hard things in life. They just need to be given an equal playing field. This is not one of those situations.

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      2. The only other school available is down the road a bit and I’d happily send him except I’ve heard things that makes me feel as if they won’t be much better. A lot of the kids in that town push to come here. This is a small farming community. Everybody knows everybody. It’s a tight knit group and the city schools are soooo much harder. Nikolai’s current teacher came from the closet city and she moved here because of how awful it was. I think the challenge here is that it’s low income, the school doesn’t have as many resources as it should. I see a lot of kids being raised by grandparents around here. I try to encourage Nikolai to be resilient but my heart breaks when he’s struggling. I will say that while some of the situation has to do with environmental stuff… Nikolai’s learning issues I don’t feel well be completely resolved. I say that only because I’m kindergarten I tried to teach him using the homeschool program Abecka, he seems like he’s grasping concepts perfectly one day and he regresses the next. I sent him to visit my mom and my grandmother for 6 weeks in the summer the year before last. I did that because my grandmother was a kindergarten and pre-K teacher for almost 50 years. I explained what I was seeing and had her work with him (she’s taught dyslexic kids and kids with learning disabilities). She called me to say without a doubt she was sure he’s dyslexic and he needed someone who could help him learn differently. That’s why I put him back into school in the first place. I was feeling like a complete failure. In Abecka all you do is watch the videos with your kid and you do the work books with them afterwards with flash cards and stuff. I was at the end of my rope trying to get him to understand the work. I had the same issue where it seemed like he connected all the dots one day and the very next day it was as if I taught him nothing. He’s SO smart. He just needs to learn differently. The only thing that helped me learn to read was the Orton program. No school around here has it. The school basically told me the state is trying to do away with testing kids for learning disabilities which I’m sure is total BS pardon my language. They told me to have his doctor test him. His doctor doesn’t do that, she said it’s the school’s job. Meanwhile my son is caught in the middle and if the school hadn’t put him into a group with better hands on learning this year… I was going to write some letters to figure out who would light a fire underneath them.

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      3. I’m not an expert on dyslexia, but everything you describe sounds pretty typical of the condition, though I don’t remember ever seeing the sideways letters and numbers either. I would continue to look for support through the traditional school system or not.

        One specific student (Wiley) I taught came to mind when I was reading your description. He was one of the smartest kids in the class and yet his writing/spelling would make someone think he wasn’t intelligent. Clearly, his brain was not wired the same way as most children. When it came to verbal skills, the boy could articulate and describe concepts beyond most other kids in the class. I’m sure those who hadn’t heard him speak with such intelligence would assume he just wasn’t smart. I noticed there were certain letters that he repeatedly would write backwards or transpose in place of other similar looking letters like b, d, and p. I made him some cards with pictures that he could refer to as he came to realize certain letters and shapes were hard for him. I’m not sure this helped a ton, but I think he made progress. Sometimes when he was writing numbers, he’d refer to his cards to make sure his numbers looked the same. I lost touch with him over the years, but I remember speaking to his mom once when he was in high school and she said that he was doing pretty well in school. When it came to test taking, sometimes I’d have my aide give him verbal tests rather than written tests. We obviously need to write to function in the world, but schools should make certain accomodations. Kids with learning disabilities go on to live happy and successful lives. I’m betting Nikolai will be no different, especially given the fact that he comes from a loving home.

        I wish I could offer more helpful suggestions. Someone with more knowledge on this topic should be able to offer you more help and support. Keep looking, LaShelle. That person or program is out there that’s going to give you far more insight than I can. In the meantime, (I’m sure you’re already doing this) keep reinforcing his self-esteem by pointing out all of the other things he does well besides reading and writing.

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      5. Ignore all my horrible typos. I’m using my phone to communicate and it’s almost midnight so I didn’t bother proofreading 😬 apologize if it’s hard to understand. What I was trying to say was I pulled him from school in kindergarten because of my health and because of COVID. The homeschool program I had him in was basically similar to a regular classroom where someone else taught him. I just did the work, went over flash cards and did the hands on stuff with him. I personally drilled numbers, letters sounds, and letter blends into him day I’m and day out. We worked on writing, reading, math… All the things to get him started. Nikolai just didn’t get it. I tried things like having him write letters in sand, into the air, and so on. It would seem as if he grasped it yet the next day or a week later it was as if he knew nothing. We went over writing his name on every page… Yet last year he was struggling to do that. He got both hands on and hands off experience with different styles of teaching… but he still struggled and not much has changed. If you talk to him he can recite incredible facts about nature and the world we live in… Things he picked up remarkably well yet he struggles to remember sight words. His teachers at school have seen the same thing I did. I showed them his work with me at home and this strange back and forth thing he does with learning is something they can measure when they test him to see where he’s at. It’s all over the map. He’ll have a huge spike in improvement, and suddenly mass regression. My grandmother had that issue with him as well. He still writes letters and numbers sometimes upside-down, sometimes backwards, and sometimes sideways (which I’ve never seen before).

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  11. I’m really sad to hear about Nikolai’s situation. Unfortunately, I am well aware of how painful situations like that can be in school. Hugs to him (and to you).

    Scribbles is so adorable. His ears!! 

    I saw that you grew up in Chicago after reading your interview on the other blog! In the city or suburbs? Do you ever make the trip up here to visit?

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    1. I did! I grew up in Saint Charles mostly but I also lived in the city with my grandparents for a while when I was younger. I’ve moved around a ton. I’ve lived in south Korea (with my husband in the Army) and Germany (when my husband was out of the Army we lived in a small town called Bürstadt near Worms), he worked on helicopters nearby. Most of my family lives in Illinois so I go visit from time to time. I’ll never go back to living in the area though. It’s not for me and my husband isn’t a fan either.

      Thanks for the comment about Nikolai. I have faith that it will work out, especially because I’m his mom and I’ll forever be his biggest advocate. 🥰🤗 At home I continue to help him every night. We work on what he’s struggling with and honestly I KNOW he will turn out okay because I’ve been dyslexic my entire life. 🤗

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  12. Wow, my eyes are welling up with tears! I love every bit of this beautiful story. On Tuesday, September 20, I left work early to visit the BRHS to meet Dunn. I loved his look – unique, adorable, friendly, anticipatory…not a cookie-cutter look at all. I had to meet him before he was scooped up. He definitely was everything and more. As I was talking to three young guys helping me, Einstein’s name came up. I mentioned I saw him on the website. They told me how sweet he was and how they all loved him. I thought his picture was cute too, but he looked a little too big for me to handle at 60 years of age. They said no, he’s actually a little smaller than Dunn. I asked if they could maybe bring him out too so I could visit with him. Oh goodness, Einstein was adorable too, and a sweet, loving little dude. He was all over the guys working there and that reassured me he didn’t have any issues with men. After about 45-60 minutes, I left and said I want to bring my husband back with me on Saturday and hopefully see “both” dogs. I honestly adored them both.
    Tick Tock! Tick Tock! Now I have to wait four days to get back here with my hubby.
    The end of the week arrives and I’m excited to see these fur kids. I was in communication with Deliliah (BRHS) and she mentioned she heard Dunn was adopted. Sigh! I knew my husband really liked Dunn’s look and was hoping he might be our new nugget. I said, well we don’t know for sure and Einstein was a doll too. It was a beautiful Saturday and we made our way up to Blue Ridge. We learned that Dunn found his new home with a little boy who had been bullied and wanted a dog of his own. My heart melted and knew God’s hand was in this. A small part of me was sad my husband couldn’t meet him, but I knew he went to the “right” home for his lifetime, and for a beautiful purpose.
    My husband and I spent 45 minutes with Einstein and really thought he was a sweetheart. We needed the right personality for a dog-spoiling mama like myself, and my husband who would love him as much as I did. Not long after that, we decided he was ours for the long haul. Einstein was meant to be ours all along, but Dunn helped us get it done! *wink* He was the catalyst that got us there and allowed us to fall in love with Einstein.
    It was Nikolai and Dunn all along. When I heard the story, my heart melted and I felt joyful that Nikolai was happy and smiling. The most amazing part is I had been looking for the right dog but was taking my time. So many need homes, it’s heartbreaking. I knew if a dog we had our heart set on, was no longer available, it was just God’s way of saying, “wait, I have a better one picked out.” How very interesting that we were drawn in by Dunn, your family by Einstein, and after a momentary bit of disappointment, we both look at another pooch and get a new FURever dog we can love all of our days.
    Then little Scooter (aka Einstein) came along and, well, now he’s our little fur boy! What a joy he is and a lot of love is given to us every day by this sweet, precious guy. I’ve always believed that God gave us dogs to feel his unconditional love showered upon us. Oh, their love can touch your soul. Oh, how I wish I was deserving of that love. I know God says I am, and I feel that love is channeled through Your amazing creation, also known as man’s best friend, The Dog!
    Nikolai, you and I have a few things in common…we have cool dogs, and we were both bullied – feeling the pain deep inside, and I struggled in school with comprehension/focus, flipping letters and numbers in my head, and always feeling I wasn’t smart enough. So young man, you stay strong, do your best, love on Mr. Dunn, and know you are always LOVED!
    Much love to you – from Scooter’s mama, Candee

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    1. Oh my goodness what an amazing addition to our story!! How right you are that God works things out for the better just as they are meant to be. I can’t thank you enough for sharing this with me. I’ll definitely re-read it to Nikolai tomorrow after he gets home from school. Give scooter lots of kisses from Nikolai & Scribbles. 🥰🤗

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      1. I will kiss him and love on him in 2 minutes. Potty time for that little lovebug! Nicolai is blessed to have a great family! I’m excited to read more on your blog. My husband and I have been in Dahlonega, GA for 3 years now. I grew up in LaCrosse, WI, spent 30 yrs in Minneapolis, and here we are in the South in the mountains. Loving every minute! Be Blessed!

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      2. I have a lot of fun stories on here that I think you’ll love, laugh, and enjoy. If you like one of them be sure to leave a comment and let me know 🥰. I typically post every Tuesday at 10:00 AM and I have some really fun ones planned for the month of October. Thanks so much for your support and for taking the time out of your day to read and comment ❤️🥰 it means so much to us!

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    1. 3 dogs are for sure a LOT! Good thing I know how to train dogs from working with my service dog trainer on Tallulah. She knows SO many things!! I also live on a farm and we have 600 acres of wilderness behind our property. The more dogs the better. When the coyotes start coming around in packs around autumn and winter… We loose huge portions of our flock without the dogs around. Everybody here has a job to do!

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  16. My youngest struggled with a learning disability, so I understand where you’re coming from. It’s heartbreaking to see the discouragement in their young hearts, but I’m glad that Nikolai has found an amazing friend in Scribbles.

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  18. Having a learning disability is hard enough; being bullied for it is just awful. My nephew is dysphasic and was lucky to have a shadow with him all through school. He graduated and is a fully-employed young man today. I hope the same for Nikolai.
    And nothing better than a beautiful dog story! Scribbles is absolutely adorable and I am so very happy for you that he is all and more for your son.

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      6. You’re not alone there. Last week I was late posting and I’ll probably be late again this week. I’ve had a lot on my plate recently and I’m struggling to keep up and balance it all. At the end of the day, I’m so exhausted, the only thing I feel up to doing is laying in bed and listening to a podcast or book on audio. Today I promised myself I’d make time to write, then my morning was so insane and the rest of the day went haywire from there. I know I need to do better but sometimes I just have to chalk it up to giving myself grace and writing as soon as I’m able.

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      7. You’re better than I. I have zero schedule and post whenever. Sometimes (though it’s been a while) I can go crazy and post four in a week… other times? It’s been over two weeks.
        We do what we can and honestly, I’m not married to blogging so I admire those who diligently post daily or twice per week or more. I get dizzy with those who post 2-3-4-5-plus daily! Whhhhaaaaattttt?

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      8. I think quality is better than quantity. When I first started my blog, to build content I posted 3x a week. As I built content I moved to twice a week, then just once a week. I do better with once a week because I like to take my time on it. For almost two months I was diligently posting on Tuesday’s at 10:00 AM. Currently my life is chaotic. I’ve been battling a cold Niki brought home from school, he has field trips planned, it’s autumn planting season for spring blooms, apple festival is around the corner, and anything that can go wrong on a farm basically has been. My dishwasher broke this morning and flooded my kitchen while I was trying to get Niki off to school… I’m helping him after school with reading, writing, math and so on. Not to mention I have animals to feed daily and we have roosters to butcher. There’s a bunch of things I need to do that I’ve put off doing but as autumn continues and the temperatures drop that has to change fast. We need to start clearing land on the new property, we have to tackle framing our greenhouse. It’s always busy here. No such thing as a day off even when were sick. 😬❤️

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      10. Usually 🥴 definitely going to be late posting again this week though! Hopefully I can pre-plan better. Today was crazy and tomorrow morning I have to run to the feed store for a bunch of things. Never a dull moment over here 😉

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  19. I hate hearing that first you were bullied and now Nikolai has been bullied. Kids are cruel and with the exception of a few stellar teachers I had, mostly when I was very young, I’m not all hepped up on teachers either. Scribbles will help to right this ship, as will you as Mama Bear.

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  22. Ahhhh Scribbles is just gorgeous and those ears were built for listening out for bad guys and absorbing bad days and troubles too. His heart is just as big I bet. A beautiful story, your son will grow up to be a kind and compassionate man, the greater the hurdles we overcome in childhood the wiser and more considerate the adult turns out – at least as far as I have seen. Meanwhile, the Mama Lion in me sends love to the Mama Lion in you, there is nothing worse than seeing our children in pain. Oh that we could take it on ourselves instead, but we can’t. I’m sure Scribbles will sort it out in due course. Dogs are amazing, I have three and they have added so much to my life with their big hearts.

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    1. That’s absolutely wonderful Kate. I love that you have 3 dogs. I’ll bet they have amazing stories too. Thanks for the loving on my blog today and taking the time to read and write such a thoughtful comment. 🥰

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  23. Awwww 💔💔my heart ached hearing about Nikolai being bullied and soo upset about going to school… I fear this for Charlotte but I also want to prevent her from being a bystander of bullying .. one of the things I have always been adamant about with Charlotte is being kind to others and to stick up for others when they can’t stick up for themselves… this story made me so sad but also so happy to know that Scribbles brightened Nikolai’s life 💕Must have also been so hard for you to not be able to do much as the parent of a child being bullied 😦

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    2. It has been extremely difficult but Nikolai is a really good kid. Since he knows how it feels, he’s taken some punches for other kids (literally!) And I’m so proud of him. I just keep reminding him that it’s okay to learn differently. ❤️

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