I titled this "The Whisperer" because of Morgan's uncanny sixth sense when it comes to animals. ANY animal. We raised goats, chickens, pigs, ducks and rabbits on our farm - that's not counting the two dogs and three cats! Morgan would come to me and say, "Mom, Capella's sick." I would go and check her out, take a temp and conclude that there was nothing wrong. Within a matter of days that goat (or whatever animal it was) would be sick. I learned to trust her. She could notice a case of hoof rot coming on long before I did and we could treat it early.
Animals have loved Morgan and she them from the very beginning of her young life. When she was about 12 months we had walked to the grocery store near our house. Morgan was sitting in her stroller and this HUGE black dog came right up and started licking her face. I expected a frightened scream, but instead got huge squeals of delight! Teaching her that all animals were not safe and how to approach them became of huge importance. Still, she sought them out whenever she could. When she was 3 Les took the kids trick or treating and at every door she said, "Do you have a dog? Do you have a cat? Can I pet it?" It think the pets were far more important than the candy!
It was natural for Morgan to participate in dog and later horse 4-H. Currently she belongs to a horse 4-H group and rides a huge horse named Doc. Doc is borrowed from our generous friend Denise who mentors Morgan in Horsemanship. Though currently Morgan has lost some riding confidence from a few bad throws, she still is able to control a horse on the ground without the aid of a lead rope, which her trainer says is a rare gift.
Morgan is developing a pretty voice and recently got a lead role in her musical drama production at school. It has taken her awhile to try to work on this gift since she knows it's my "thing" and what 12 year old girl wants to be like her mom? I'm proud of her for finally acknowledging her talent!
Morgan's biggest struggle is having a severe learning disability in which she cannot retain information she has read. All her books need to be read aloud or on audio versions with her following along for her to retain information of more than a paragraph and math is a huge thorn in her side. Through supportive family and great teachers in her home school program she is learning how to adapt her studies to best suit her specific needs. While she often has bad days she tries hard to be positive. We are so proud of her!
Morgan is helpful and organized. I think this is in part because of her learning disability requiring things to be in their place. Sometimes her room gets a little messy, but she is quick to pick it up as she prefers a non cluttered environment and also likes it that way so she can hang out with her friends in there. If I want anything organized I nearly always give her the assignment because she does the best job!
Though she may play shy and quiet initially, Morgan is a social butterfly and is lucky enough to have 3 of her 4 friends from church in the same home school program as she is in. They are thick as thieves and fun to be around. They will be a great support to her as she enters public school as a freshman in a couple of years.
Morgan is fun to have around and I'm grateful to call her my daughter!
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