Real Life Stories of a Local Mom: The Neighbors Got a Rooster!

By Lillian Michelle

Today’s weather could not have been better. It was partly cloudy, 78 degrees, and not a bit humid. We spent nearly the entire day in the backyard.

Elizabeth loves to craft so this was the perfect time to pull out the paints and be creative. We spread out on the picnic table, fixed ourselves a delicious snack, cranked the tunes, and got busy. Quinn is not one to sit for long, so crafting does not generally line up with his plans. He found himself occupied by digging in the sand pit and bouncing nerf darts off the wall.

Everything was picture perfect. Notice I used the past tense. This is not only because these events took place before this current moment, but also because things were perfect until they were not!

Let me explain…As we quietly enjoyed the warmth of the sun, an evil menace was planning his attack. He tramped back and forth on the tree line watching, waiting on his chance to pounce!
Our elderly dog, Maggie, was the first to notice the presence of this monster. Her hair stood on its end while her paws planted firmly in place. She fired out flaming arrows from her eyes and into those of the beast. The invader returned an equally vicious glare followed by an incredible howl.

It was an intense stand-off but eventually, Maggie claimed her victory, crossed the tree line and left her mark. She proudly peed a few times then held her head high as she had just saved her kingdom from certain ruin. Poor thing! I do not think she had ever seen a rooster! We put her inside to rest.

Quinn shouted excitedly as he bounded toward me in his Spider-Man boots. “Did you see that? The neighbors got a rooster!” The kids chatted energetically about how brave Maggie was then we all got back to our projects.

About a half hour passed and we thought we had seen the peak of the day’s excitement, but that sentiment would soon prove to be wrong. By now, we were finished painting and had moved on to reading a book. I glanced up from the page to take a drink when I saw the rooster was back. This time, he did not stop at the tree line. He had entered the yard and was marching right toward us.

Nothing in life has or ever will thrill my children more than the events that transpired after this.

At the very same moment the heinous beast took up his battle axe, Quinn popped the back door open and out the cat ran. I think you know where this is going.

Before things were said and done, I was chasing the cat who was chasing the rooster who was dropping bird gifts with every step as he ran circles around the house. The kids laughed and laughed as I swung a stick back and forth attempting to drive the mad thing away, but he just became more obstinate with my every motion. It was a mess!

Thinking back, I bet the neighbors enjoyed the show, too. I do hope they did. My treat!

Henry, the cat, came within inches of catching the rooster. I am confident that if he gets a chance to sit and watch that bird, in the future he will not miss.

Lord have mercy! I was so worried that someone was going to get pecked or the cat was going to kill the neighbor’s pet or the rooster was going to hurt my pets. I am not cut out for farm life.

Finally, we caught the cat and somehow chased the rooster away. I was exhausted but the kids enjoyed every second of it. After that, Quinn took it upon himself to keep the property line safe. He swapped his nerf gun for his little water pistol then set out to make sure his yard stayed clear of savage foul and their accompanying poop trails. He marched up and down for almost an hour only taking a break to go potty and grab a snack.

Today was the stuff of memories. One day, we will sit in the back yard and say, “Hey! Remember that time the neighbors got a rooster?” Today was a good day.

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