• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

michelejo.com

seeking minimalism

  • home
  • about me
  • Recipes
  • Frugal Living
  • Homeschooling
  • Adventures
  • Celebrations
  • In the Garden
  • Tending Hearth
You are here: Home / Blog / Pain and Panic: Dog Biscuits

Pain and Panic: Dog Biscuits

March 30, 2016 by michelejo Leave a Comment

There really isn’t a lot about my childhood that I can write chronologically.  Snippets and details flood back randomly, and out of order.  I’m hoping that after I’ve written a lot of this out, I can sort it into some semblance of order.  Today’s story is an early one though.

I know that I was three or four years old, because we lived in our home in Putnam Valley, NY and I hadn’t started Kindergarten yet.  We moved there when I was three and left shortly before I turned six, but after my Kindergarten year.

On this sort of day, my mom was going through one of her things…she was sitting under the pool table, basically in a catatonic state.  She just stared at me when I tried to speak to her, and no matter what I said or did, she didn’t really respond.  She had a blank, vacant look on her face and even crawling into her lap and crying didn’t snap her out of whatever hell she was in.

During this time, I was left largely to fend for myself.  Occasionally I would call my father, crying hysterically, about Mommy being “sick” and not talking to me.  Or feeding me.  Or taking care of me.  He would always assure me he was coming home soon.  But he worked long hours as a sales manager at a car dealership, and we lived in the boonies.  He left early in the morning and came home late at night, and he rarely took a day off. Looking back, I’m not sure how I didn’t end up getting seriously hurt, between our steep basement steps, our rural location and our unattended kitchen.  I was extremely obedient and knew not to touch the stove or anything sharp.  I was afraid to even get into the pantry or refrigerator for food, milk or juice.

During times like these, I dined on Milk Bones, which my mother kept underneath the kitchen sink.  Occasionally she’d put out a cup of milk or orange juice or even better yet, a bowl of cereal, and I’d excitedly discover it upon waking up.  Most mornings, it was the Milk Bones. I would sit underneath the kitchen sink, with the cupboard doors open.  Jacques, the chocolate poodle, would sit with me and we’d share our breakfast.  I preferred the plain, light tan ones…I imagined they were milk-flavored.  The colored ones weren’t as good and I avoided them, usually handing them over to Jacques.  I think they were beef, liver, chicken and so-on.  I’m not sure what the green ones were supposed to be, but those were my second-favorite.  I’d lean my head against the pipes and count the dog biscuits, making sure I rationed some for future meals and snacks.

I’m not sure exactly how many times this happened or exactly how often, but I do know it’s one of my most prominent memories.  I also remember getting caught under that cabinet, nibbling on a Milk Bone, and my mother acting appalled that I would do such a thing, as though she had no memory of her days lost in some sort of vacant fog.  Those days I had real food and a mother who would let me curl up in her lap.  I’d ask her to rock me, and she’d oblige.

 

Filed Under: Blog, Randomness, Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

h e l l o . . . . . . . .

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Search…

summerland.az

Meant to paint these rocks and leave them along th Meant to paint these rocks and leave them along the way from AZ to NC, so ran out of time. New plan: leave them around the complex! 💜

(Reminds me I totally forgot to hunt for Pokémon on the trip out here!!! Argh!!)
Celebrating Father’s Day today! Katie has a hom Celebrating Father’s Day today!  Katie has a homemade ice cream cake in the freezer and cribbage was played earlier. Now Mario Kart. Tom’s mounting the bedroom TV between hanging out with the kids. 💜 I’m trying the Hime Chef hot honey butter salmon, Home Chef shrimp recipe for dinner.
It’s pretty here 💜 It’s pretty here 💜
Instagram post 17961454066819439 Instagram post 17961454066819439
Instagram post 17888103242661920 Instagram post 17888103242661920
Shamelessly hiding in my car while Tom and Dakota Shamelessly hiding in my car while Tom and Dakota load a U-Haul van.
The stuff of nightmares but less scary alone than The stuff of nightmares but less scary alone than going in the elevator with Tom and our stuff 🤣😳
New brands of treats!? New brands of treats!?
Chicken and biscuit place, in an old Wendy’s… Chicken and biscuit place, in an old Wendy’s…
Enjoying trying new things. Enjoying trying new things.
Instagram post 17913759302460332 Instagram post 17913759302460332
Next to last one this trip!! Next to last one this trip!!
I had to order Mississippi and Alabama on Ebay. 🤣 I have picked up New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and now...Florida! 💜
She was mad I moved the blanket 🤣 She was mad I moved the blanket 🤣
The crew 🤣 The crew 🤣
In my car with Katie next to Tom in his car, tryin In my car with Katie next to Tom in his car, trying to wait out the second big Florida storm of the day. And oh, we’re in Florida today. 🤣 They have great rest stops!
Dinner date. Waffle House was EMPTY so we ate INSI Dinner date. Waffle House was EMPTY so we ate INSIDE!! 🤣🤣🤣
Instagram post 17985629758517420 Instagram post 17985629758517420
Instagram post 17924056823388516 Instagram post 17924056823388516
Instagram post 17876329877701619 Instagram post 17876329877701619
Load More... Follow on Instagram
July 2022
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Nov    

Copyright © 2022 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in