Where on earth does time fly to! Here we are at the end of May, the middle of the year is almost upon us and despite my fine resolutions at the beginning of the year an awful lot of them have not come to fruition. Hmmm… as Darrell would say, maybe I set my goals too high and have too many irons in the fire? With that thought in mind I sit here with my morning cup of tea and wonder just how I could make life a tad simpler.
As I mentally go through the list of things we do on the farm I try to think of what can be eliminated, think of things that I could “let go” and not miss. 
Now that is a challenge! Horses have been and always will be a part of my life so they will be around; I just have to make more time to ride them! I did drastically cut back on my equitation teaching, something that has been hard to do yet in a way I am at peace with making that decision. The pigs are pretty easy to take care of and other than farrowing time twice a year and tending little piglets, they are not too much of a chore although I must curtail my temptation to put “just one more” piglet into the feeder pen for last minute customers. I am going to be strict with myself and limit the number of feeder pigs in the pen to 10 or maybe 12… no more! Really! That way Darrell and I will just have two or three butchering sessions. Milk cows; well since I love making cheese the milk cows have to stay plus I just cannot get used to shop bought homogenized milk anymore so the thought of not having a good glass of fresh full cream milk, well that is definitely not an option! Beef cows we need for our smoked sausage making and like tonight, a delicious inch thick rib steak. There is nothing quite like home raised beef!
Soaps and lotions, nope, they will stay on the agenda too as I enjoy making them as well as using them, not to mention the number of folks out there who would be disappointed if I suddenly dropped my “Rose’s Creations” line. Plus it is a lot of fun going to Farmer’s Markets, setting up my little tent and tables and for a few hours handing out free soap samples as well as selling my wares to folk passing by. There is something exciting about packing up tables, boxes, bins and coolers into Nessie (my 1955 Chevy car for those who have forgotten!) then trundling off early on a Saturday morning on my way to a market. Yes, that is something I want to keep doing. Speaking of cars, being able to help Darrell now and then on one of his old car projects is definitely staying on the list although I guess technically that is not really a “farm thing”.
Aside from happenings on the farm, I love being an EMT and cannot imagine not having that volunteer activity in my life. Being able to respond day or night to someone’s call for help is worth all the challenges and time commitments that come with the role of volunteering. We have a wonderful group of EMT’s here on the Monument Volunteer Ambulance and working and training with them, responding on calls in the middle of the night, yes that is something I cannot walk away from.
OK, so maybe I just need to get a little more organized on my time management issues. As I get older I find myself slowing down but that is a good thing right? Darrell would like nothing better than to see me slow down… way down… but then he also knows that is not in my nature. There is a lot to be said for being your own boss and doing the things you love to do, so as I reflect on all the irons I have in the fire I feel I am on the path in life I need to be on, at least for right now. Somehow it would be hard to imagine a life that did not have milk cows, pigs, cattle, horses, dogs and all the additional things such as cheese making, soaping, sausage making, butchering and all the other things in it. I know I do need to make time to do fun things with Darrell such as going fishing, taking our cars to local car shows just for the fun of it, sitting out in the sunshine on the deck just because it is a glorious afternoon. Yes I need to make more time for these things and I will.
My father instilled in me a “work first play later” ethic that has been and still is extremely hard to veer away from. He drummed into me the need to work as hard as I can and my goodness, after all these years that is a very hard mould to break out of. But slowly I find I am ready for change, for a slowing down in my life. Maybe simple things such as only putting 10 piglets in the feeder pen instead of 12 (or 17!!!) will be a start. Maybe spontaneously saying; “Let’s go fishing today!” will be a good thing, yes, I like that idea… now as soon as I get these last five pigs cut & wrapped, the bacons and hams cured and smoked, more soap made in preparation for upcoming markets… yes, let’s go fishing….
