The Living Arrows project took it’s name from a poem by Kahlil Gibran, “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth”.

Every week, I shall be posting a photo taken the week before and I can’t wait to see the collection at the end of the year. 

This week, I have chosen 2 photo’s:

 

 

 

This is such a sad Living Arrows for me. These pictures are of my baby boy and his two Guinea Pigs – Pizza on the left with curly, wiry hair and Sunshine on the right, with smoother, longer hair. 

We adore these piggies. We’ve had them for almost a year – since they were 8 weeks old. They’ve grown in our arms. 

Being indoor Guinea Pigs, they are part of our family. Every morning, they say hello to us when we come downstairs and start ‘pop -corning’ (jumping in a very sporadic, bouncy way, like popcorn popping)  around their enclosure and when they hear the little squeak of the salad drawer of the fridge opening, they start wheeking (an adorable squeak/beep like noise that’s so hard to describe) their ears widen and they come to the front of their cage with their noses high. It is so adorable. 

But.

When we got the Guinea Pigs, almost a year ago, my health was better. I was stronger. I thought I was on the way up and the worst was behind me. But, so much has changed. Bear is obviously a little older. But, as he has turned 5 years old, despite my health problems, I am under a lot more pressure to find a job. My health means that most jobs are out of reach for me and so I am trying to establish myself and my blog as a platform from which to earn from. This takes a lot of physical time and hours behind the scenes. I have also undertaken 3, and I’m currently completing my 4th qualification in business and now accounting, whilst struggling against my health and being a single Mummy.

My health has gone backwards a little. I am needing more help with everyday life but I have always taken care of my pets however now, I am needing help to clean out the Guinea Pigs. Too often. It’s not fair on my family. I am so anxious about the Guinea Pigs receiving the care and attention that they deserve (although my family are amazing, I just feel that I am letting them down by not doing it myself) and putting even more of a burden on my already stretched support net. 

So, despite being fully aware that it is not fair on the Guinea Pigs and it is not fair on my son and it’s quite frankly heart breaking for me, I have made the decision to surrender them to a local shelter who have very high standards of care and will be able to vet potential new homes better than I feel able. I know an animal is for life. I know this. Yes, I should have probably never got them in the first place but it’s not the fact that I can’t be bothered or I’m just too busy to care for them, It’s my bloody health that ruins my ability to be the mother, daughter, sister, friend, pet owner and quite frankly, human, that I want to be.

This week’s Living Arrows is to remember our love for these beautiful, snuggly Guinea Pigs that have brought us so much joy. We have a little bit longer with them thankfully but will miss them forever. 

Until next time.

Thanks for reading,

Love,

 

 

 

 

 

Living Arrows 2017