We Bought a Farm: Minutes to Spare

I remember my meeting my college roommate, Kristi, for the first time. She had grown up on an expansive ranch in New Mexico. We couldn't have been more different. I was a city girl. She was country folk. I had never, (ever!) used the bathroom in anything other than a proper facility. Kristi need not have a proper facility to get the job done. (And she proved this to me on the second day we met as we were touring the campus in the evening and couldn't find a proper place to pee.)

Her town of 200 had a tiny school. And they only went to school four days a week so that their parents had them home to work the land the three days. Kristi drove herself to school as young as nine-years-old. She lived two hours from a fast food restaurant folks! Two hours!

Anyways, I say all that to say that I remember Kristi telling me about her dad having them work up to the very last minute on the ranch. They'd have a game. They'd need to be there by 2pm. The school was twenty minutes away. And at 1:30 they were still out working the land. I didn't understand this at all. "Why would he want to cut it that close? Just let your daughters go and play their game," I remember saying to her.

She would laugh and give me a look like "Wendi, this is just how it was. It was how it needed to be. You can't plan these things."

I didn't get it.

And then today happened on my farm.

We were moving sheep. We had a paddock about three-fourths of the way done. We had a birthday party to attend and needed to leave the house by 3:30pm. And at 3:21 Sidge and I were still in the field with my cousin Eddie and his son Gabe, stringing line. Sidge had his shirt off and told me he was super thirsty and I had told him to just get some water out of the sheep hose because we didn't have time to take a water break. I was dripping sweat. I had no idea if my other kids were even slightly ready to go.

Oh and I hadn't even thought about a birthday present for the party yet.

I entered the house at 3:26pm. Eddie and Gabe were still working out in the paddock, but I had pushed myself to the final minute. At 3:31 I was out of the shower, dressed, and ushering the kids into the van. Sidge had put his sweaty shirt back on and had said: "I don't think this looks too bad," as we buckled up.

(I had even managed to get a card and cash gift ready in that six minutes.)

Life has a way of surprising you. I now feel totally comfortable using the bathroom outside. My kids often choose to go outside over inside when nature calls. While they don't drive to school, they are doing things at their age that I never even contemplated. They talk about death and birth and "being in heat" and mating as if it is simply as natural to them as playing Legos.

I am in awe, continually, of this life I live. And I wonder when it won't feel new to me anymore.