Moving On

I spoke too soon - about spring I mean. We’ve endured a bitter north wind for two days. Mark got back into his wool coveralls and has a hang-headed look on his face. Not for him so much, but for the calves and their precarious health situation. When it blows like this they lay for too long between nursings and are more susceptible to infections. He watches the herd closely, stepping in with supplemental fluids if needed. So far just a few have needed his  help.

We lay in bed last night listening to the dull roar in the trees and the dogwood rattling against the house. It’s hard to sleep when you know your animals are having to tough it out while you lay in a warm bed.

Anna and Seth both got accepted as interns in Washington D.C. Seth will help at a lobbying firm that works on the Farm Bill. Anna will work for Idaho’s own Senator Risch. Of course I’m thrilled for them to experience our nation’s capital for a whole summer - and together even! Still, this will be our first summer without a kid around. Sobering.

I organized the basement this week. I went through lots of kid stuff that has hung around for a long time - long enough for me to be able to part with them: Seth's first guitar, Callie's high school volleyball jacket with her name on the shoulder, a few old halloween costumes (Anna was Pippi Longstockings for sixth grade). I filled the backseat of my Honda with boxes and dropped them off at the Youth Ranch Thrift Store. I wasn't even too sad, just happy that someone else will put our “has beens” to good use.

Mark often quotes lines from On Golden Pond, one of his all-time favorite movies. One line comes to mind as I accept that our kids have lives of their own. Katherine Hepburn is scolding her daughter Cheltzey, played by Jane Fonda, for holding on to past hurts. “Time marches by, Cheltz. I suggest you get on with it.”