Chores

Remember when we had actual chores?

I'm not talking about regular sissy chores, but real down-and-dirty chores.

I can distinctly remember waking up early, pulling on those old fire-fighter boots, wrapping some dingy, old (yet warm) coat around me and trudging my way to the goat barn with one of those blue plastic buckets. There you'd break apart a bale of alfalfa, you'd probably have to rummage in the hay for an old string so you could rub it against the new one and burn through it. You'd fight those momma goats away from the gate so they didn't stampede out of the pen area, and then try and separate one at a time so that you could milk them. Always being wary that they didn't step in the pail, or worse, knock it over. Momma wouldn't be happy if you spilled the milk. Repeat x3.

Then you'd drop the milk off on the porch, or take it into the kitchen and make your way next to the rabbit barn/chicken hutch/ pig pen. Each posed their own unique set of challenges, requiring a different set of skills and diligence.

An hour or so later you'd come back to the warm house smelling like animals. If you were lucky, you had time to shower before you would run down the 18 mile driveway, avoiding the mud-puddle, with wet hair in time to catch the bus. Where you would ride to school with a bunch of kids who knew exactly what you were going through, because they had just done it themselves.

A long day of Mrs. This, and Algebra that, and you'd be back home to repeat the process before dinner. Because "you don't get to eat until those animals do" can't you hear Momma saying that?

Today my day was filled with sissy chores. Vacuuming, dishes, the eternal toy pick up, and I remembered those other chores fondly. Heaven knows why.

The family bed in the house on Gambol Quail

We have always had a family bed.........since Sara was a brand new baby and I was determined to breastfeed her no matter the hardship....my doctor saw how exhausted I was and said, "Lisa take that baby to bed with you!" I got the best nights sleep that I had in months.

Family bed had begun.

WHen I think about our beautiful house in Colorado Springs on Gambol Quail, I am grateful for so many things....one of them was our king-size waterbed.

As I sit here tonight at my computer listening to soft music, "quiet music" we have called it since those Colorado nights on Gambol Quail.

It wasn't unusual for there to be 3-4 kids in our bed with us at any given time.....Sara was older and rarely came to our bed, unless there had been a been a bad dream in her night.

Abby was usually there and of course Owen, he was born when we lived there, almost born in that house and Hope too....

Beautiful quiet music began to waft there, Temple in the Forest our first tape....back then there were tapes......

Now there are cd's....and itunes and ihomes.......

but I remember the lovely master bedroom that attached to the bath, it was a good sized room and decorated so nicely....

I labored in my chair there in that bedroom for 2 births....

I had a nice little nitelight in the headboard and I could read after my hubby went to sleep

We made sweet love there and a baby named Hope.

Such a nice place...........