Reflections in the Middle of the Night

August 2006-  
   As a teenager I always considered 2am as the middle of the night. No sane person would ever think of starting their day at such an atrocious hour.

  That was before I met and married my dairy farmer husband, who likes to be done milking before the sun peeks up over the horizon. Now almost 27 yrs later, I view 2am just a little differently.

  I step out of the house and the heavy darkness feels like a blanket as it wraps itself around me. The stillness of the night is only broken by the late summer sounds. There are no vehicles, or big semis roaring through the night. There are no clouds in the sky, I can see a million stars.  The birds start rustling in the trees, as my footsteps disturb their sleep and they change their positions. The barn owl, that lives in the old silo, is out on his perch watching me with distain. With a hoot, he takes flight and circles the barn, wondering what is wrong with these humans. They disturb him all day and half the night. I enter the barn as the first cows slowly make their way into the milking parlor. They too seem loathe to shatter the stillness, their feet keep time with their jaws as they find a stall. They are glad the heat and humidity are past, they are ready for cooler temperatures.

   As my daughter and I turn on the fans and start the milker pump, the spell is broken. The cows start to push and shove as they look for their favorite stall. The cow that was fresh the day before sounds like a fog horn as she searches for her calf. The quiet of the early morning helps to take the sting out of life's little grievances, like the mean spirited cow that kicks the milker into many little pieces and it takes 15 minutes to find all the parts and put it all back together.

   There is only one other thing that can compare to the peace and serenity I feel as I step out of the house at 2am.

  It happens on the mornings that I don't milk, I waken to the sounds of our little granddaughters' voice coming over the baby monitor. As I slowly make me way downstairs, she hears me coming and stretches her little arms out to be picked up. We snuggle down into the rocking chair, she burrows her head into the crook of my arm and gazes up at me. She doesn't want to play, she knows it is the middle of the night and she is supposed to be sleeping. She doesn't want a bottle, she just needs someone with skin on. I can feel her eyes looking into mine in the darkness. We exchange secret thoughts, thoughts she will never remember and I will never forget. I watch her as she slowly lets sleep overtake her. She sighs as she falls into a deep sleep. I continue to hold her, I don't want to put her back in her crib. I want to hold her forever.

2am is still the middle of the night, but it is also one of my favorite times of the day.

When We Are Old Ladies

I changed the words to the poem, "When I'm an Old Lady",  to fit our daughter Debbie and her fiancé Pete. Then his mother and I read this at their wedding in 2006.

When We Are Old Ladies

When we are old ladies, we'll live with Pete and Deb,
And bring so much happiness, just like they did.
We want to pay back all the joy they've provided,
Returning each deed, Oh they'll be so excited.

We'll take off our socks, lay them all over the house.
Then we'll try to tame a wee little mouse.
Oh how we'll cry when they feed it to the cat,
Then we'll play in the mud, and track it onto the mat.
When we are old ladies and live with Pete and Deb.

We'll take a nail, scratch our names on the table,
And when they get angry...we'll run...if we're able.
We'll get their little girl, cut off all her hair,
Then we'll hide out....behind the chair.
When we are old ladies and live with Pete and Deb.

We'll get in Pete's truck and never look back,
Until we backed into the green metal hay rack!
When they cook dinner and call us to eat,
We gag on the dried beef gravy, chicken and beets.
When we are old ladies and live with Pete and Deb.

We'll drink from the cartons, and then leave them out,
Then we'll stick pins in the outlets... just to hear them shout.
We'll cross both our eyes, to see if they stick,
Then we'll play in the candles and ruin the wicks.
When we are old ladies and live with Pete and Deb.

And later in bed we'll lay back with a sigh,
We'll thank God in prayer and then close our eyes.
Pete and Deb will look down with a smile slowly creeping,
And say with a groan, "They're so cute when they're sleeping!"

Why Farm Wives Age Fast

   The day was July 20, 1987. I had got up that morning not feeling well so I thought I would just take it easy since I had nothing pressing to do. After breakfast I went for groceries while Rob took the three children, (Leah 7, Jesse 5, and Debbie 2,) with him, he was taking a load of corn to Agway. He asked me to check on two cows that were out in the pasture when I got back. One was supposed to have a calf, and the other one was supposed to be in heat. He was also expecting the combine to come as soon as he got back, then he would be busy hauling oats to Agway the rest of the day.

    At 11 o'clock he came in and asked about the cows. I had forgotten all about them!! I told Leah and Jesse to watch Debbie real closely and went right out to check them. I walked all over the pasture, through thistles as high as my head, looking for the fresh cow. I did find the other cow in heat so I went back to the barn and called her in to the AI service. I had missed the deadline for morning service so I would have to make sure the cow was in the barn by 1 o'clock for the afternoon service. I went back out to the pasture and continued looking for the fresh cow. After about an hour, I did stumble onto her, amidst the thistles. She wasn't fresh yet. I walked back to the barn to get the truck so I could drive out to the field and tell Rob about the cows. Then I remembered the children!!

    Leah and Jesse were in Jesse's bedroom playing with the door shut, their version of watching Debbie closely! Debbie was in the bathroom brushing her teeth with my toothbrush. She was using baby lotion for toothpaste. She had baby lotion everywhere, and had also taken the wrappers off of four bars of soap. I grabbed Debbie, told the other two where I was going and drove back to the back fields. Rob had just left with a load of oats so we settled down to wait. We had eaten all the red huskberries off a berry bush and Debbie was halfway through the green ones when Rob came back. He thought the pregnant cow should have food and water, I told him I would go back to the pasture and bring her out to the water trough.

    As I was driving back to the farm, I saw calves running in every direction. It was 3 calves and 2 children. Jesse and Leah were trying to get them in but they were actually chasing them. Two of the calves went lickerty split out through the sudax field, I went lickerty split after them. I finally managed to get them turned around. With Jesse and Leah standing at designated spots we got them back in their little pasture lot. All the gate fences were open, apparently Rob forgot to close the gates when he took the tractor out of the barnyard that morning.

  Then I remembered the cow! At that moment I was wishing for a three wheeler! I left the children in the yard and trudged back out to the pasture, found the cow and started playing "merry-go round the thistle bush," She was in a rotten mood and wouldn't let me get behind her to drive her out to the water trough. I finally decided to get the truck and bring the feed and water to her. The children filled three five gallon buckets with water, while I got the ryelage and hay. I put everything on the truck then got a sheet of warped plywood and laid it over the buckets. I sat the children on top the plywood, hoping the water wouldn't slosh out too much. We bounced our way out to the pasture, the children and the plywood bounced off the buckets so some of the water did spill. We managed to have enough to give to the cow.

   When we got back to the house it was 1:30. I packed a lunch box full of sandwiches and cookies and sent Jesse and Leah back to the field for Rob and the combine man. Debbie and I were just finishing our sandwiches when the screen door opened and George the AI technician walked in. The cow wasn't in the barn! I asked him if he minded waiting till I went out to the pasture and got her. He said we were his last stop for the day, he wasn't in a hurry. Good thing!! I ran back out to the thistle field once more! There shouldn't be any jaggers left on the thistles, I think they are all embedded in my legs. The cow was about as far from the barn as she could get. I got her into the barnyard without any trouble. I shut the fence and tried to get her in the barn. She panicked, jumped the fence and broke the gate handle, we were back where we started. George came out to help me. We had her in the barn and tied before she knew what hit her.

  Rob never told me what bull he wanted her bred to so I called Agway hoping he would be there unloading oats. He wasn't! George said he would run back to the field and talk to Rob there. Right after he left, Rob called from Agway. I got all the information, and went to find George. When I got back to the field, Leah said George went to Agway, so I turned around and headed back to the farm. By the time I got back to the farm, George was pulling in from the other direction. As I came around the corner of the barn, George said, "I heard you were looking for me." I said, "Yes I was, I sure hope that cow gets bred, I don't want to go though all this again!"

   I went on into the house. It was 3 o'clock, one hour to "take it easy" till milking time. I had just laid down with Debbie when Rob walked in. He said when the children brought lunch back to the field he wasn't hungry...now he was!! and THAT is the reason farm wives age fast!!!

I Love..Tom T Hall

Our Story

A Real Cowboy

I was babysitting three of my grandchildren. Carter had a "new" black cowboy hat. It looked more like a worn out sombrero to me but it turned him into a real cowboy. He had told his mother, "every cowboy needs cowboy boots." She said, "Well this cowboy doesn't!" Then he said, " This cowboy needs a gun." And she said, "That's one thing your not getting" and he said," Isaiah has one"..And she replied with a mothers favorite comeback... "Well you aren't Isaiah!" So on that note he showed up at grandma's house bringing his cowboy hat and his four year old logic with him. Everybody knows how a four year olds logic works with grandmas.

It was a cool crisp morning and the house was a little chilly. He came through the door talking about his cowboy hat and where he got it, and now he is a cowboy! His mother came in a few minutes later and said, "Carter get your shoes and socks back on, cowboys do not go barefoot!" Carter looked at me and said, "Well, Grandma don't have shoes and socks on." Deb and I said simultaneously, "Well grandma's not a cowboy!" Then he asked, "Grandma do you have a rope?" Again his mother said," No! grandma doesn't have a rope!" I looked at Deb with hounddog eyes and she said, "Mom you will ruin my life if you give that boy a rope!"  Carter looked at me with pleading eyes and said," Grandma, I really need a rope, all I have is a horse and a hat, 'sides every cowboy has a rope!" I looked back at his mother, cause I did have a rope, it was just waiting for a little cowboy. I had actually swiped it from this same little boy a year or so ago before he knew that hats and boots and ropes make a cowboy. I went to the closet and pulled down my rope. His eyes got big and his smile went to meet them. While his mother groaned in agony, I handed him the rope and said, " Now remember, this is grandma's rope and you can't borrow it, you have to leave it here so you can play with it the next time you come." "Okay," he said, "Oh thanks grandma, this is just what I needed." After his aunt worked her magic on it and made it into a lariat, he was busy roping chairs and doorknobs, when he started swinging the rope above his head I ushered him outside, "cause that is where cowboys use their ropes most." It wasn't long he was back in and said, "Grandma I'm not going to borrow this rope, I'm just going to take it home with me." Then there was an ear piercing scream coming from the little girl at my feet, who had been pushing her dolly in the doll walker. I turned around to see the little cowboy galloping through the kitchen door on an imaginary horse, giggling like a school girl, and at the end of his rope was Jaymee's dolly. I rescued the doll and confiscated the rope. I knew then the rope had to stay at my house, Carter nor I, would ever see it again, besides, I really didn't want to ruin his mother's life. My little cowboy took his cowboy hat and went home, but I still have the rope and I will keep it as a reminder of the day a "real cowboy" came to visit.
                                                                                                                                 9/18/2011

I enjoy getting away from the flurry of endless farm chores and driving to a quiet serene mountain cabin to spend a few days of total relaxation. My favorite getaways are usually within 4-5 hours from home. They are also the least stressful.

Its the trips that are halfway or more, across the US that send me into a complete panic. I try to have all the directions printed off, the addresses written down to each destination. If we are flying I like to know where each stop will be and how long we will be there. I like to have the itinerary printed out and within easy access at any given moment. By the time I get through airport security I usually have lost my drivers license half a dozen times, my itinerary is in shreds, and my nerves are frazzled.  The fun really begins when we pick up our rental and try to find our way out of the airport. We have no idea where we are heading and have to rely on our wits to get us there.

A few years ago we flew into Reagan Washington around 11:30pm. We found our car in the long term parking lot, punched the "home" button on our GPS, it immediately told us to "drive to highlighted route". Before we could even determine where the "highlighted route" was, the GPS was "Recalculating." Then we were to drive "1/2 mile and take ramp on right". We drove 1/2 mile and there were three ramps, Rob said, "This one?" and I said, "yeah" and the GPS said, "Recalculating!" OH BOY!! Then I noticed we were driving through the City of Washington DC. This was an opportunity I was not passing up. I always wanted to see something at night, it didn't matter what, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, just something! We were passing gardens with fountains so I knew we had to be close to something! Then I heard a voice say, "in 500ft take a right", Rob said "this one?", I said, "yeah" and the GPS said, "Recalculating." Rob was really starting to hyperventilate, mostly vocally!!. Then I realized we had turned onto a less than favorable street and I had lost my opportunity to see anything at night, except inner city Washington. They say that three wrongs don't make a right, but that night, five wrongs made a right. We messed up on two more turns and then right before our marriage vows hit the fan, we found ourselves on the correct interstate that guided us home to our normal happy life!!

Did I mention that we have another trip planned in the very near future? It will be our first time flying into San Francisco. We have about five hours to find our way out of the airport before anyone will send out a missing persons alert. Do you think that will give us enough time?

 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence...Psalm 91:2-3

 We have a death trap in our basement. We don't know how long it has been there. Now that I know it is there, I have a subconscious fear that it will invade our living room. There have been a lot of people in our basement the last couple weeks and no one saw it!

  The pest control inspector came out Friday to do our yearly inspection. While we were in the basement three yellow jackets were buzzing around our heads. I have a very healthy fear of yellow jackets so I promptly left the basement. The inspector said he would look for any holes in the wall that they might be traveling in through. I heard him holler, so I went to the door and asked him if he was alright. He said he was but also found the problem. He found the nest, approx. 2 ft. by 1 1/2 ft. How long does it take a swarm of yellow jackets to make a nest that size?

  How can you live so close to something like that and not know it was there? It is attached to the living room floor so you would have thought we would have heard some kind of buzzing noises.
How long till they would riddle their way into the living room.

As we have been working to get rid of the bees, it reminded me of how troubles come into our lives. Some come like the bees, we realize something is wrong, we can't remember when we first noticed the change but now we know we have a problem. Some troubles hit us like a brick, when we are least expecting it, all of a sudden our life has been turned upside down.

How do we handle the trials that come upon us? Are we like Job's wife in Job 2:9, "...curse God and die..."? or like Job himself, "though he slay me yet will I trust in him..." Job 13:15. My personal favorite is, "ignore it and it will go away". That was my first thought on dealing with the bees, then I remembered we have several children who are allergic to bee stings. Did I really want the bees hanging around in the basement?

When troubles overtake us do we feel that God has turned his back on us? Do we feel we are alone and have to deal with our troubles on our own strength?

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Ps 91:4-5

God hath not promised skies always blue, Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through; God hath not promised sun without rain, Joy without sorrow, peace without pain. God hath not promised we shall not know Toil and temptation , trouble and woe; He hath not told us we shall not bear Many a burden many a care. God hath not promised smooth roads and wide, Swift, easy travel, needing no guide; Never a mountain, rocky and steep, Never a river, turbid and deep. But God hath promised strength for the day, Rest for the labor, light for the way, Grace for the trials, help from above,   Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

by Annie Johnson Flint

 
  There is a saying that goes something like this, "If I had known that grandchildren would be this much fun, I would have had them first." I found out today why God's plan for grandchildren is perfect.

  I was babysitting my 4 year old and 2 year old grandsons and their 3 mo. old sister. The 3 mo old slept the whole time she was here. I can deal with that!  Her 2 year old brother on the other hand went from one thing to another. As I was cleaning up one mess, he had his hand in something else.
He has learned that blood pressure medication is "yuck."
There is a button on the main phone base that pages the rest of the phones in the house and it took forever for Grandma to figure out what the noise was and how to shut it off.
Dishwasher detergent cubes burn his mouth like fire.
The dog dish has some pretty good stuff in it sometimes.
Dish soap can be hazardous if you try to walk through it, and
Toilets hold a storehouse of entertainment, too many to actually list here.
Even though he has learned all these things have consequences, he still hasn't learned to leave them alone!!

What I have learned?
There is no place high enough to put prescription medication!
From the time you see him with your cell phone and move in his direction, he already has the text sent, so don't even try to get there fast, its just too painful!!
 2am is not a good time to wonder how long he had been upstairs unattended today, or how many other alarm clocks he has turned on!!
The timeout chair also needs to be equipped with a straight jacket.
His mother has my sympathies and
I'm praying for his future wife.
Children's children are the crown of old men...Proverbs 17:6
Someday I am going to read this to him, when he is a calm, quiet 16 year old!!

 

Sept. 27, 2014
My morning was anything but quiet. I woke up at 3:15am to the sounds of a child herding the cows. Before I recognized the voice, I was asleep again. Half an hour later I woke up again and knew it was time to get up.

As I walked through the darkness to the calf barn, I could hear Jaci coming from the direction of the parlor, hurrying to catch up to me. As we fed the calves together she talked the entire time. How can a child be so vocal at 4 in the morning? As we were finishing up the watering, Rob arrived with the announcement that a heifer calf was just born. Jaci went to help Rob prepare a clean pen then they headed for the maternity pens to get the calf. As soon as they left the barn, I missed her chatter.  They were soon back with the new calf, who was still wet and slimy. We got some old towels, so Jaci started rubbing her down while I went to get the cow's first milking. As I approached with the warm bottles of milk I could hear Jaci crooning to the baby calf. I stopped to watch. It reminded me of a new mother with her own new baby!  She kept up a monologue as she vigorously wiped off the calf. I handed her the bottle of milk and she offered it to the calf, who latched onto it right away. I wondered if the calf could feel the love that was being poured into it at that moment. Jaci would have snuggled down in the straw with the calf if her mother hadn't shown up to take her home. She very reluctantly went home, never realizing she had just made a memory that I will hold in my heart forever. 

May 13, 2014

There are days that you would love to remember, there are days that you would love to forget and then there are days that you wonder how you made it through with your sanity still intact. Tuesday was one of those days. Amanda had asked me the week before if I had anything planned, she and a friend wanted to float down the creek on an air mattress. At the time I had nothing planned, my day was completely empty of any appointments. I was to drop them off at point A then pick them up at point B. It would take them about two hours to float that far. I had a host of misgivings about this floating device. I was praying that it would rain. I just saw disaster looming.

Tuesday came with a few showers in the morning, but the girls weren't afraid of a little rain, they were going to get wet anyway. They had planned to head for the creek at 11:30. But I had forgotten about her adventure and scheduled Debbie and I for massage therapy at 9:30. Deb and her children would be coming back to my place so I told Amanda I should be back by 11:30. I didn't make it so she and her friend, also Amanda, took the little pick-up, and parked it at point A. Amanda called me to let me know they were in the water so Deb and I could get the pick-up.

When Deb and I got back to my house, it was lunch time so we all had lunch. We were still a little worried about the Amandas’, so I called her and she said they were fine, still floating! Then the phone rang. It was Emily, our niece; she needed a babysitter immediately for her little girl, Sage. Cory, her 4 year old developed an allergic reaction to something and needed to get to the Dr. right away.  Emily arrived carrying Sage and a bowl overflowing with bread dough.  I quickly got her dough into the pans and then realized I had a dilemma. We still hadn’t gotten the pickup, and I had an extra baby and bread dough to babysit. Debbie had an appt.with her little girl Jaymee at the school several miles from us at 2:30.  It was now 1:30. Rob walked in right then and said he was going to need the truck in half an hour. For some reason I had it in my head that Debbie’s apt was at 2:00. Amanda called and said they were ready to be picked up! I was to bring the pick up because their clothes and things were in it. Umm the pickup was still at point A, and there was nobody available to take me to get it. I knew the mattress wouldn’t fit in our car but it was my only option so I grabbed some towels and went to pick up the girls. They were very wet! At one point the air mattress hit a tree and their back pack fell off and started floating away so they had to swim for it. It was now 10 till 2 so I called Deb to tell her we were going to be late but she was very calm which I couldn’t understand. We had to let the air out of the mattress so we could stuff it in the car. We headed back to the farm so the Amandas’ could go get the pickup and I could babysit Debbie’s two little guys and Sage, and the bread dough. When I got into the house the bread was ready to bake, Emily wasn’t back yet so I stuck it in the oven. There is nothing worse than baking somebody else’s bread in your own oven. The smell was just too tempting! Debbie left for her appointment, the Amanda’s were back with the pickup, and Emily arrived back with Cory. As we were taking her bread out of the oven, we had a steady flow of people coming through the kitchen wanting to eat her bread. I’m not sure whose harebrained idea it was but I think it was Emily’s!! She offered to mix up a batch of bread, so there we were, 3pm in the afternoon making bread! After we got it all mixed up and back in the bowl raising she took her bread, that was left, (she did cut into one loaf for the starving people) gathered up her children, and went home. I had been having a time with Debbie’s little guy, Jude. He was going from one thing to another, getting into all kinds of trouble. Finally I stood him on the window sill so he could look out the window and watch the trucks and tractors go past. I totally forgot about him until Emily left and it got quiet. He was still standing on the window sill watching Dumpaw. Debbie arrived back from her appointment and gathered up her family and took them home. Peace settled over the house once more. Except I still had lunch dishes scattered all over the kitchen and bread still rising waiting to be baked.  At 9pm I took the last loaf of bread out of the oven. I was beyond tired, the massage of the morning was long gone and I was in desperate need of another one!!