Lightening Online

I think one of the greatest benefits I’ve discovered from being “out of action” has been Farmboys increasing appreciation for what I do as a stay at home mum. It’s not that he wasn’t appreciative before. It’s just that now he REALLY UNDERSTANDS what I do all day.

For instance, he used to get up and go to work by around 6am. Naturally I would get the kids organised and off to school for the day. At the moment that’s his job. And he can’t believe how much LESS he gets done at work these days. Not just because he leaves for work 2 hours later. But because he is so TIRED after the effort of getting the kids ready in the morning. His comment to me went something like “I’m amazed you have the energy to get ANYTHING done in a day after getting the kids ready for school”. I smile and nod and refrain from pointing out that most of the time I’ve been doing it I’ve also had to breastfeed a baby during that time.

Today we started shearing. Shearing has tended to be an ongoing saga in this family. At least until Farmboy took over running some of the sheds. He seems to have more success with getting shearers when he wants them than his dad ever has (it’s a long story).

Usually I cook for the shearers. It’s kind of expected around here. A long-term tradition. You don’t *have* to cook for the shearers. You can pay them a fee to bring their own lunch. BUT, shearer’s tend to get grumpy if they have to bring their own lunch so if you want to keep the shearers happy, you feed them. And you feed them well.

For the past couple of years, Farmboy has had to organise his own shearing food for the shearers. I just haven’t been up to the planning, shopping, preparation and execution of this task since my breakdown.

In fact, one of my biggest fears with marrying a farmer was the very thought of having to cook for shearing. At 19 years of age I had NO IDEA if that was something I would be able to manage. I really had NO IDEA if I could even COOK!!!!

(Inspired by Pioneer Woman’s Black Heels to Tractor Wheels story, I have been contemplating writing a series of my own about how Farmboy and I met and ended up together. My writing style isn’t quite as eloquent as hers though).

Anyway, away from shearing and back to the topic at hand - appreciation. Farmboy came in this morning and said to me “remind me to put you on the shearing payroll when you get back on your feet. This shearing cooking is a full-time job”. LOL. You think?

Usually I bake leading up to shearing.  He’s bought all ready made stuff. Often for lunch they’ll get something homecooked.  Farmboy bought chickens and a ready-made lasagne. Often I’ve had to travel to take the food to the shearers. He’s cooking for the shed right here. Yeah, cooking and preparing food for shearing is pretty much a full-time job for the duration.

Anyway, the point of this post wasn’t to complain. I have to admit cooking for shearing isn’t my favourite job as a farmers wife but thankfully I have discovered I do have the ability to do it (normally) and it’s not that bad. Of course, it’s still nice to be appreciated.

I wonder if he really WILL add me to the payroll……..????? Unlikely.  It’s the thought that counts.  Right?  RIGHT? 

….drug companies!!! I know at times they get a bad rap for being money hungry manipulators. But in all honesty, a lot of peoples lives have been saved and/or improved thanks to the medications we have available.

I’ve been struggling with a lot of pain these past few days. I think the worst thing about it is waking up every hour or so through the night. So you add pain and lack of sleep together, it makes for one very grumpy me! Yesterday when I saw my GP he recommended trying an Ibuprofen based pain killer. So I came home from the chemist with some Nurofen Plus. Now I am totally in LOVE with Nurofen Plus!!!! LOL. Wouldn’t mind taking out shares in our local pharmacy though after parting with another $50 there yesterday (but I am thankful they’re there - so I’m not TOO grumpy about that).

Last night DS had croup (again!!!). I’m thankful we have the availability of redipred - it’s so scary when your child can’t breathe. He was having an awful time of it - getting frustrated when he couldn’t even get enough breath to cough. So he’s back to the dr today (was there just yesterday). Poor little mite.

I know our health system isn’t perfect (far from it) but I’m just feeling really thankful that we do have some resources to help us through the not so healthy moments in our lives. So many people in the world don’t have access to the kind of medical care that we do - and I know at times I’m guilty of taking it for granted.

We’ve had Nan and Pa (my parents) visiting this weekend so the house has been a hive of activity. The kids excitement level skyrockets when we have visitors. Which is nice but can also be quite exhausting.

Well the 2 older kids are back at school this morning and Nan and Pa have headed off home. DH has taken the youngest with him while he checks the sheep.

So the house is QUIET!!!! Aaaaahhhhh!!!

It’s nice having lots of people around but the silence really is golden as they say.

I looked out the kitchen window this morning for the first time in a few days and the countryside is GREEN! What a beautiful sight. We had more rain last night as well so that was a very welcome arrival. It’s good now to keep getting showers to keep everything nice and damp. DH is so pleased with how quickly our crops have sprung out of the ground this year. Getting the crop in a little earlier this year (due to earlier rainfall than we’ve gotten the past few years) has meant the soil is still warm and the seeds have germinated quickly.

I’ve noticed a lot more smiles when I’m out and about than I’ve been seeing over the past few month. Where’s there is rain there is hope.

Peace and Quiet, beautiful green countryside and rain. There are 3 things to be really thankful for this morning. What’s bringing a smile to your face today?