Yesterday was a really bad day.... My husband had to leave to go to work mid day and was going to be gone overnight and I was feeling like I got hit by a Mack truck. I always have a to do list that is a mile long and yesterday was no different. I tried desperately to get through my required activities, but by 2 PM it was all I could do to keep my head up on the couch. It was so bad, that I had to set my alarm for 5 PM to ensure that I was awake, alive and functional to do evening chores. It really got me thinking about how dependent my animals are on my health and wellness. I knew that I desperately needed to fill the field water for my horses and it was literally all of the strength I could muster to drag the hose from the chicken coop to the field waters and stand there with it while it filled. I felt so helpless and weak it was frustrating and scary. I am accustomed to being an independent, self sufficient bull headed woman that does things my own way, but the illness I came down with was enough to literally zap my strength and vitality away.
This made me realize how dependent my animals are on me and what my plan needs to be for them if something were to ever happen to me. I never used to think about things like this, but as I have gotten older, I do not go out to the barn without taking my cell phone in case something was to happen. Also, my husband will always be my contingency plan to take care of my animals, but what happens if he is sick, away or injured as well? It is one of the challenges we face not living close to family or other goat friends. We do have a few farm sitters that we use on occasion, but what would happen if we needed to use them for an extended period of time? That would get expensive and I am not sure if we would be able to keep the farm running. This is simply another incentive to me to maintain good health for me and my herd, because it is paramount to our success together! Thankfully, after sleeping I felt much better on Wednesday, but I am still hacking my head off with sickness. Hopefully, I will continue to improve, because kidding season is coming soon and I need to prepare!
Happy Goating!
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