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| Good advice! |
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| A mini cattle drive. |
The same morning my car started leaking a mystery fluid, Jack’s car flashed a whole bunch of check engine lights and his brakes basically became useless unless he had about five times the stopping distance.
So, we met him at the nearest, very rundown mechanic shop in hopes they could diagnose the problem.
And neither could the very expensive car dealership, who should know Hondas like the back of their hand but made excuse after excuse for a week without coming to any sort of conclusion. Of course, they still wanted our money for basically doing nothing.
Of course, cars aren’t the only thing that have been struggling around here. Our washing machine decided to kick the bucket, but not before it soaked a load of laundry in dirty water, then leaked the very same dirty water all over the storage room. Whoopie.
As for the horses, they’ve been enjoying a lot of time inside the barn while the winter weather blows over. In gratitude, Stoney dirtied his water trough and by dirtied, I mean he pooped in it. A lot. Maybe he was trying to tell me he wanted it cleaned out. How subtle of him.
Although I’m really not sure what he was trying to communicate by pooping in his grain bucket. Perhaps he was dissatisfied by the amount of grain he was getting and wanted more? Horses really are like overgrown toddlers.
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| Really, Stoney?? |
Speaking of toddlers, Zoey is her own force of nature. She’s recently discovered that she has an opinion and likes to loudly–sometimes violently–express it. We’re talking full-blown screaming, hitting, biting, glaring, and chastising others. The worst of her damage is done silently, though. Like when she decides she needs a snack and raids the cabinets for anything and everything that looks appealing. I’m not sure what it is about spilling it on the floor, but it appears she’s convinced it makes any food more palatable if it’s in a mess that she can sit in the middle of.
Despite her mood swings, Zoey is a very sweet girl. She loves to trail along with her siblings and do whatever they’re doing, including gluing their crafts together. Her motto with glue is to use way too much glue, and do it secretly behind the couch by unscrewing the lid, then dumping it all over yourself and the carpet. Because that’s how toddlers roll.
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| She got caught red handed! |
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| Watching my book sales slowly die… |
While I’m busy trying to figure out the self-publishing game, on top of everything else we have to do around here, that means sacrifices have to be made in order to sustain our talents, hobbies, and the day-to-day needs of running a home and farm. I always seem to be weighing whether I should buy a gallon of paint to update a room or stitch up our winter coats that are tearing at the seams, just one more time. Sometimes, it’s either buy more hay for the animals or heating oil for the house. Always something to decide.
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| Jack’s coat first. |
Let’s just say, I’ve done my fair share of stitching up coats, socks, tights, jeans, and sewing on buttons lately.
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| Then mine. |
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| Dolly watching Henry play in the snow while we waited for the vet to see if she was pregnant or not. She wasn’t. |
With all these disappointments, trip-ups, setbacks, and discouragements, it’s easy to spiral into a gloomy mood (I blame February, my least favorite month of the year) but frequently, the difficult times are what teach us the most.
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| Zoey is a very zealous hay-stacker. |
Even though the kids sometimes grate my nerves with their bickering, eye-rolling, sassing, drama, and constant noise, they are overwhelmingly and without question the greatest kids I’ve ever met. They are only human (I do my fair share of bickering, eye-rolling, sassing, dramatics, and being noisy, too) but they are the smartest, most hilarious, curious, kindhearted, beautiful children I know.
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| A little of Claire’s humor for you. |
They can entertain themselves anywhere because the world is their oyster, especially if they come across an open field in the middle of town–that’s their territory!
We understandably get a lot (A LOT) of comments about the number of children we have, which is quickly followed by copious praise of how well-behaved and polite they are. It’s nice to know other people think my kids are really awesome, too.
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| They quietly colored the entire time we were at our tax appointment. Angels, I tell you! |
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| Don’t lions make biscuits at your house? |
Once I get started gushing about Jack, I have a hard time stopping. He’s one of those rare gems that’s the best of both worlds–he fits into the city and farm like they’re interchangable. He’s smart as a whip, hardworking, clever, and makes the best beef jerky I’ve ever had. Good thing we have a lot of meat to experiment with.
Ever since I’ve known Jack, he’s found ways to make me feel special and remind me that he loves me, including writing love notes on my computer. Sure, they look like a serial killer or a kindergartener might have written them but that’s part of the charm.
Patience is another one of those lessons I’m slowly (like, painfully slowly) learning. That includes watching my books grow. While I’m not topping any charts just yet, I am seeing some success, including a few orange tags on Amazon that give me some hope that people are in fact reading and enjoying my work.
While the animals can seem ungrateful, for some weird reason or another, I love being able to take care of them. A fresh bed of shavings, a clean bucket of water, and a flake or two of good hay and they’re content. I mean, I have horses in my backyard! It’s my childhood dream come true!
Even in the midst of the chaos, there are times of peace and tranquil. Thank goodness those who can read enjoy it and are often caught quietly enjoying a book in their own space.
Those are only a few things that we’ve learned from hard and challenging times. More than once, we’ve witnessed miracles, have been humbled, felt compassion for others in similar situations, have learned to be content with what we have and to change our perspective when that’s the only thing we can do about the situation. Difficulties are unquestionably a test of character and perseverance, creative thinking, prioritizing, and sacrificing. Those kinds of lessons don’t come without some blood, sweat, and tears.
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| Henry wrote and read me an apology note while Captain Piccard looked over him approvingly. |
In the end, we might cry and wring our hands, wondering what the future will hold but ultimately, will pick each other up and cheerfully carry on. You know, the sun’ll come up tomorrow kind of thinking.
Nobody’s immune to hardships and that’s partly what makes life such an adventure. So, we’ll appreciate the good times when we have them and when things aren’t quite so sweet, keep pushin’ up.
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| Yeah, I am. |
