I know, I probably should have gone straight away to the hospital to get checked out - and any sane person would have done so. However, I hate going to the hospital. I avoid going unless I genuinely think I'm going to die if I don't. If I can breath, if I'm not completely blacking out from the pain level, and if I'm not bleeding profusely, I figure it's something I can deal with at home. My kids are another story entirely - if they get sick or hurt, we march them right in to the doctor's office. I'm just weird perhaps.
Anyway, ibuprofen, cold packs, hot packs, a hot bath, acetaminophen, and several hours laying down had me feeling well enough to sleep. This morning I thought I was better, but as soon as I got out of bed I quickly realized that I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything today. I managed to check the garden modestly (picked a handful of beans but couldn't bend over to give it a good look through), and I got #1 to help do the bunny chores. I'm very thankful to #2 who made dinner tonight, and to #3 and #4 who cleared and set the table for dinner. They've all been taking turns playing with #5 to keep him occupied so he isn't jumping on my bed or getting into trouble.
It looks like this long stretch of work for Tony may be harder than I originally anticipated. I hope the kids can hold out and refrain from fighting and arguing among themselves for the next several days. Here's hoping.
I've been having some issues with the responses I'm getting from my bunny ads on Craigslist. A lot of people never respond after their initial email and my response. A couple have asked to come to my home (we do not give out our home address for security reasons), a couple have flat out refused to answer simple questions, asked to see one of the three bunnies that are not for sale (and clearly marked as such on this website and are not advertised in the ads), or have asked us to give them a bunny for free because they can't afford to pay the $20 fee. I really have to wonder about some people. Why would you get a pet if you clearly can't afford to feed it? Why would you refuse to answer a simple question (will you be keeping this bunny inside or outdoors? Are you looking for a pet, a breeder, a potential show animal, or meat production?)?
Fortunately the people who want to come to see the bunnies are usually understanding when I explain why we do not give out our address. Back when I did rescue work we would have people come to the house to look at animals that were up for adoption. During that time we had our car windows broken out and our personal belongings stolen from our car, we had things stolen from our yard, three different wind chimes (hand made originals) cut and scattered across the lawn, and we had to replace our door locks when they were repeatedly "jimmied" to the point our keys no longer fit in the locks. Our neighbor chased off several people she caught peering in our windows when we weren't home. The final straw came when a would be adopter attempted to steal one of our rescue pets. Fortunately she escaped them, and we found her a couple blocks away, but she had broken a tooth - our vet estimated $200-$500 to fix it. Thankfully I was able to find an adopter who had a vet that could fix it for much less, and so we adopted her out to them and she was able to get the tooth pulled and recover in her new home. That's when we finally said enough - no more giving our address out to strangers. There's just too many people out there who come to scout places to burglarize, and the news has no shortage of stories of CL ads gone terribly wrong - ending in rapes and murders, kidnappings, and things that make break-in attempts look like small worries. Call me paranoid, but I'd rather have to haul bunnies all over to meet people in public places, than to risk the safety of my kids, my pets, and my home. Given some of the responses I'm getting from the ads, there's good reason for my insistence on meeting in a public place - and never alone.