This season has come along so suddenly, I am struck with the startling realization that fall is almost over and those harvest-colored sunshine days that I used to love to go riding on are almost past. Winter is coming. The pessimistic side of me is dreading the frozen water tanks, fierce winds, sub-zero temperatures, and the aching fingers I get from handling a cold pitchfork. I don’t like the effects of daylight savings time, with it’s short days and cold nights. But winter brings more than that. There will be sledding excursions for the kids, bright sparkling mornings where the snow has given everything a fresh coat of white glitter, the desire for a cup of hot chocolate and a longer cuddle with your sweetie than you’d want in the summertime…..there are some really great things about winter.
Our baby will arrive in just a few weeks. The anticipation has been growing with each day that passes. We know it’s a boy, so we’re thinking of names, wondering what he’ll look like, washing and folding tiny clothes and marveling at how small babies are…it’s a fun time in our family, looking forward to welcoming a new one of us. It’s exciting, knowing that nothing will ever be the same again. We are more.
These days have been busy. As a stay-at-home mom, I’ve held a part time weekend job for years now, but there have been several people retire and others quit within the company, and I have been working almost full time hours since May, and working six days a week since September. It really cuts into the time I have to keep house and be a mom, but my mother in law helps out with babysitting and picking up kids from school, and we often go to their house for supper as well, so it makes things easier for me.
I haven’t ridden a horse since April. A girl came out from Omaha in October, interested in buying my sorrel mare Daisy, and I really wanted to ride Daisy around a little first, but my husband said no. Daisy was perfectly behaved for the girl, so it didn’t matter anyway, but watching her made me want to ride so badly! It just doesn’t feel like being me, to be apart from horses for so long.
The buckskins are gaining weight, as I had hoped, but I really wanted to thin our herd just a little by selling Daisy. Feeding five horses can be a heavy drain on our checking account through the winter. The girl just fell in love with Daisy, but called us with a low-ball offer of half what we were asking, so we declined. She has called back since, wanting to come ride her again, but we’re just not interested in “giving away” a horse we have spent a lot of time with and gotten to really like. Daisy has been a pretty good girl most of the time, and our daughter has started riding her, and we just couldn’t let her go for half what we were asking.
My husband is starting a new venture in sales, a straight commission job, which we had hoped to ease into while he continued his old job….but when he approached his current boss about going part time and starting the new job on the side, the boss had different plans. He wanted us to move to a different state and take on more work and less pay, and we just couldn’t do that. A new guy was hired to replace my husband, and he was told after he trained the new guy he was done. So Cowboy Dad’s last day of work was today.
Winter is bringing some scary things. We are trying to look ahead, making plans to cut out any unnecessary expenditures until this new job gets underway, and hoping to hang on tight through the thin times. The big picture is full of blessings, though. We’re thankful for our family. Thankful to God for the safety and health He gives us daily. Thankful for each day that dawns, as it gives us more opportunities to enjoy the life we have.
I hope you’re finding yourself thankful as well this season, and I wish you a hundred little things to brighten your days in spite of the cold and darker evenings. Winter is wonderful!
