There is something very comforting in routine, such as getting up in the early morning hours to do an hour of Yoga followed by a nice cup of tea while sitting in my easy chair to check emails and messages as the kettle on the woodstove gently whistles away. I listen for the sounds of Darrell arising then nip to pop a pan of milk on the stove for him when he joins me in the sitting room for our first cup of something hot together and a chance to plan our day. The routine of gathering of milking equipment for the trip to the milk house and completing the chore of milking Lass, returning to find Darrell waiting at the end of the garden path to carry the heavy, full milker into the kitchen for me. The ritual of seeing Darrell prepare another cup of tea for me while I wash up the milking equipment and get the big stainless pan full of creamy milk cooling in the sink. It is a very comforting way to start the day.
In a lot of ways I enjoy being a creature of habit. I like to have a plan and work methodically through things, I am one of those folks who actually reads the assembly directions before starting a project! Needless to say it has taken a few years, quite a few years, to become somewhat comfortable with the vagaries of farm life and the spanners that can be thrown in the works to upset the apple cart at a moment’s notice! As a “Libra” zodiac person I am very typical of my sign in that I sometimes have a terrible time making decisions and often find if my day’s plan has been disrupted by cows getting out, a fence down that needs fixing, horse emergencies, tractor that will not start… the whole day falls apart. At least it used to.
Over the years that Darrell and I have been together, 27 going on 28, his staunch support for all I do, his encouragement, prodding and way of looking at life, has finally made me realize the world will not fall apart if something goes awry in one’s plan for the day. There will always be tomorrow. This has been a very hard life lesson to learn and one in which I still face great challenges. My mantra growing up had always been “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today”, one reinforced by my father who was definitely a “Work first, play later” sort. In fact one of my most telling sayings is:”Procrastination is the thief of Time”. Time is so very precious is it not? Routine is good, it sets the day in motion and gives purpose to our daily life and yet sometimes it is good to break free of routine and just let things happen spontaneously.
Now for those of you who also have animals to tend and care for you know that one cannot just up and take off without a care in the world on the spur of the moment as there are obligations to consider such as the feeding and watering of said creatures. However, with a tad of quick planning one can indeed be somewhat spontaneous. Or how about having a whole day ahead of you, planned to perfection and crammed with things you are going to accomplish, then throw it out the window so you can just sit and play with puppies or piglets? I think being a farmer changes one’s perspective and being married to a wonderful chap who has a great outlook on life helps tremendously! Also, being an EMT on the ambulance has helped mellow my stringent work ethic mode to one that allows me to accept that if the pager goes off in the middle of making a 5 gallon cheese it is not the end of the world, the pigs will love those cheese curds and benefit from them! There is always another day and another 5 gallons of milk to turn into cheese.
So much of how our lives are shaped and lived as adults stem from things we learned as children. I remember growing up many of the hardships I was exposed to, many of the things I went through which in turn I hope has helped shape me in to the person I am. With all one hears about people committing terrible crimes and how their upbringing was totally responsible for making them do these things, I cannot help but shake my head. From some of the things I have seen, ways I have lived, places I have been, things that have been done to me, I should definitely be a candidate as a menace to society! Yet hopefully I may be considered a benefit to society. Life is what one makes of it. No matter the hand one may be dealt it is how one chooses to play that hand that makes the difference. The people we let into our life and those who we choose to help influence us in life not to mention our own will and a big helping of Fate, allow us to decide what to make of our path through this world. One of these days I must sit down and chronicle my life story and share some of those life experiences. Yes, life truly is what you make it… how glad I am to have the life I do…