Deer is Dead?...sometimes literaly

Was it dramatic foreshadowing that had warned me against it?

As Payan and I prepared for our holiday road trip to California, I scanned the my fav design site - Apartment Therapy - and saw that they were debating whether the "deer trend" was dead. The NY Times ran a similar article, this time declaring the whole antler thing kaput. Deer was officially Dead.



Then my beloved niece called and asked me to drive her little Honda out to Califas instead of my trusty Jeep Cherokee. I didn't think of it as a dangerous option -- plus I really liked Ashley and wanted to support her escape from muggy Houston for a West Coast Disney internship. She'd flown out the month before and told me how she was shivering now that the cold weather had set in with no car of her own or boots to wear. How could I turn her down?



So Payan and I took 2 extra days trying to pack up her little car with all our gear. Our shiztsu Poopi wasn't happy about the setup.



As a result we headed out much later than we'd planned. I knew we had to make up for lost time if we expected to work my family's annual toy giveaway the morning of the 24th, which we had promised to videotape.



Sissi cat was a trooper and settled into a comfortable position. Victor was exhausted, so I took the first shift on the road heading West. The night caught up to us pretty fast...



...and I began to see the bodies of dead deer all over the road. Driving at a 35-mile-an-hour crawl thru the Texas wilderness took forever. My eyes were anxiously straining for any live animals crossing the road...hour after hour.

Of course, Fate had other plans, and I did hit a deer...even though I swerved to miss it. It was awful. My niece's car was badly damaged. Thankfully, the engine was still running so we scattered some rose petals and said a prayer for the poor deer before continuing on.



I'll spare you the gruesome images and emotional fallout of this sad event. Payan and I were just glad to be alive. As we drove thru New Mexico, we knew we wouldn't make it to the Festival Hall event in time, but were comforted knowing we both had family in Arizona to at least share Noche Buena with.



My sister-in-law Lydia waited up for us with her shiztsu Lina. Poopi was relieved to be on solid ground when we arrived.



Christmas Eve this year for us was people and not a geographical location. We had some hot toddies, recharged and gave thanks for the best Christmas blessing of them all...health y familia.