To some people ‘Change’ is a scary word. I myself, have been subjected to enough change that I do not fear it, I welcome it. For my husband, this is a double edged sword. Decorating my house is one of my hobbies, and it quite often, reflects change. Then of course with every change of season, comes changes in weather.
With the sun setting earlier and earlier, I find myself rushing to fit everything in. Between school homework, barn chores, dinner and baths…my time was shrinking and it just wasn’t working. It occurred to me, it was time for a change.
Dinner, homework and children take precedence…then comes chores. The obvious choice was to adjust the chores. It seemed rather simple actually.
I would start milking Mabel in the morning, rather than at night.
Everything has its season, and I for one…love the ‘feel’ of each season. I love summer nights, endless sunlight and being outside. My boys do too. It’s our play time and yet we accomplish quite a lot. They use their ride-a-long tractors to transport hay, and believe it or not, they love to help clean stalls. Tractors, dirt, shovels and rakes are a little boys dream. But you know what I realized? In order to love this as much as we do, it has to go away for a little while, otherwise it might become redundant, stale, or even a little boring.
So here we are, saying goodbye to Summer, preparing for Fall and feeling a hint of Winter. It’s time for that change.
My plan was never to milk Mabel through the winter. I was going to dry her off and prepare her for the next calf, however, plans changed. Her breeding is a bit behind schedule and I can’t quite seem to ditch the idea of meeting her in the barn every day…or foregoing my fresh milk. So there we have it, I’m taking our girl time to the morning…in the dark…at 5:00 am.
Today was my first day.
It was dark. It was cold. It was GREAT. I needed that change. It felt like I had accomplished the world. Mabel on the other hand, still needs some convincing. She couldn’t understand why I was asking her to come in so early. She resisted. She even went to the extra effort to relieve all of her insides onto my milking floor. In fact, after I relieved her of 2.5 gallons of milk, she decided to opt for the path to the hay stack instead of the path to her stall. She has NEVER done that before. She pulled a quick right and aimed straight for the alfalfa. She tore a piece off with QUITE a bit of attitude. Enough attitude that I grabbed a halter thinking I was going to have to help her recall her training. Fortunately, a quick slap on the hip and she turned back into good graces.
Animals and children love routine. In fact, they thrive on it. Mabel knew I was breaking her routine, but she came around. She is compliant, she is willing and she too will learn to accept change. She will trust that it is for the better…because she is rewarded for being willing.
Have you ever taken the time to acknowledge the good in change? Were you willing?
