Trying To Keep Up

Another Monday......I started the day with good intentions to get many things done. After morning calf and barn chores, my progress stalled as I sat down to prepare three confirmation cards and a sympathy card for sending. Tears came as I signed the sympathy card to be sent to a local couple whose 15-year-old granddaughter had succombed after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Her photo was in yesterday's newspaper-----a beautiful girl with a happy smile on her face. Seeing her reminded me of my own children and how heart-rending it would be to lose one.

My next task was vacuuming ladybugs. Several east windows in our house are crawling with scores of the annoying little creatures. Yesterday's very warm weather seems to have coaxed them out of all the crannies they dwell in around the windows. They are actually some sort of asian soybean beetle which has taken up residence in Iowa the last few years. Probably they were imported somehow in foreign grain. Its a good thing they are basically benign-----they don't bite or sting, they just are numerous and they do produce a yucky smell if you squash them. So I avoid doing that. Once, I accidently chewed one along with some popcorn-----they taste just as bad as they smell!

Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. Husband and I dined out on our screened porch for the first time this season. Blackbirds in the pine trees were squawking and squeaking and whistling-----I always wonder what they are saying to each other. After lunch, Husband wanted a haircut, so I trimmed his hair out on the lawn. I, of the fine, mousy hair persuasion, have always been jealous of his thick, wavy tresses. Its easy to give him a haircut, you can cut anywhere, any way, and it seems to look OK. We had quite a laugh over his crop of ear hair! What can its purpose possibly be?

Back in the house, there awaited a huge pile of Daughter's clean laundry to be folded. Yesterday I kept urging her to please "keep up with your laundry and dryer loads", but she left a couple loads undried anyway. So I'm being nice and folding them for her, to get them out of my way.

On the email front, my brother has been sending me forwards concerning some gay rights law being debated at the statehouse. He gets so worried about that sort of thing-----that the world is going to pot, and feels we Christians should get fired up in opposition and write to our legislators. He and his wife do homeschooling because they think their kids would get corrupted in the public school system. I have argued with him about that----I think his kids would be just fine in public school. In fact, I think his oldest son is becoming too much of a kingpin, and would benefit from the classroom social setting, where he would have to learn to be patient, and take his turn, and be respectful of others. But, what do I know. I sent my brother a long email, however, presenting my opinions on the gay rights thing. I told him that I doubt the world is actually much worse than it has ever been. We're over-informed about all the bad stuff and everyone is so open and in-your-face about everything these days,too. Homosexuality, abortion, etc., have been around forever, and always will be, as long as there are humans. I told him basically to chill out on that stuff at this point in his life, and just focus on loving and providing for his family and teaching them the Christian way of life. We'll see how he responds!

So goes another Monday. I have no idea how women that have off-the-farm jobs can possible keep up with things at home. I'm home all the time and I can't keep up! I dread the lawn starting to grow, because that means countless hours spent mowing lawn. Already, weeds are poking up wherever they possibly can. One bright spot, though, is our patch of purple crocuses blooming near the barn door. They are lovely! I should join the modern age and acquire a digital camera so I could include photos on my blog.

Best wishes to everyone trying to "keep up"!