Dropping Like Flies

So my girlfriend calls today, checking on our new cow, and casually asking if we had received her Christmas gift, “You know, the one I left you last week”. When two girlfriends and their children were here for an impromptu tea party, our collective children enjoyed themselves, tea-ing, partying and sundry other giggle-inspiring activities, while the Mommies chatted and did not spell out our words.

We have all experienced the phenomena when your company leaves and you find out that the children were all doing something they oughtn’t - in that order. Sometimes you find out right away… sometimes it takes a few days for all the facts to come out. Sometimes the children know better…sometimes they are clueless. The game that has small parts that they weren’t supposed to have out with toddlers, the weapons when our peace-loving friends join us, the sharing of germs…

This time it took a few days (and a few kids) before I found out that our Christmas gift was the gift that keeps on giving. Seventeen loads of laundry later due to a front door/backdoor illness, I am wishing I had not spoken so soon. I mentioned to the gifter that our family was not hit too hard by this virus – only three had had it, with two days between each onset. At dinner we had two more casualties.

Yes, as a matter of fact, we did get that gift. As frugal as I tend to be, I will resist the urge to regift this time. Instead, with a blanket announcement that our family will be conspicuously absent from church this week, we are preparing to ring in the New Year from the sick beds on the couch.

 

Out with the old…eh?

Learning Curve

Deep sigh.


It's over. I was truly dreading it, knowing that the dispersing of such information could very well cause us to be the laughing stock of the church, I didn't want to tell.


When you go to church with almost all farmers, especially folks who were raised on a farm, eating, sleeping, breathing farm life, you just know they giggle at you when you make mistakes. A dear sister from church who runs a feed store has visibly reddened and had to exercise tremendous amounts of self control over some of my questions to her.  She's a patient woman. She manages to maintain her composure enough to educate me even when her coffee is attempting to come out of her nose.


But it didn't happen. Actually, it never has. As much as I anticipate it, it never actually occurs-they never laugh. Instead, our revealing the newest of our dumb mistakes educational experiences simply spurs our friends'  stories of their early years on their own farms, when they were just learning .


Case in point: we were recently expecting our Jersey dairy cows to calve. I was joyfully expecting their arrival, and the ensuing flood of milk, butter, ice cream, cream cheese, yogurt, ice cream, kefir, ricotta and ice cream that we would have once more. Did I mention ice cream? (Our children used to have asthma and ezcema, and can't have pasteurized milk, so we've been without dairy during the dry period.)

When we recently announced that we found out our cows are not even pregnant, lots of folks were disappointed with us, but they assured us that it was a common mistake. Not having them checked by the vet after breeding to be sure they were pregnant is an ommission that apparently everyone has made. But only once.


'Well, I guess you won't be making that mistake again!'


No, I can assure you, we will not make that mistake again.


We'll have a list of plenty of others to work on...

Blogging Without Obligation

After coming across what seemed to be the 4000th or so post on someone's blog starting with "I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile." I decided it is time to rethink what makes a good blog and the expectations that have come to be part of it. I am thinking that no one should utter those words again . . .and with that thought I give you Blogging Without Obligation.

If you feel the same way feel free to grab the logo, make a logo or whatever you would like to do!

I release all the logos, thoughts and words mentioned here about this concept into the public domain. Take the idea and run with it. . .or walk away. It is all good.

• Because you shouldn't have to look at your blog like it is a treadmill.

• Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.

• Because its okay to not always be enthralled with the sound of your own typing.

• Because sometimes less is more.

• Because only blogging when you feel truly inspired keeps up the integrity of your blog.

• Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.

• Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be "bloggable".

• Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won't be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .