That Girl Is A Cowboy............

There's just somethin about this time of year. In terms of cattle ranchin, it couldn't be any busier: shippin cattle, weanin calves—every day for two weeks straight. Poor babies bawlin for their mommas, day and night! In terms of housework: weedin out all the summer clothing and too-small jeans, locatin and inventoryin the myriad of winter gloves, hats, boots, earmuffs, because if I wait until the temperature is eight degrees and it's 5:00 a.m. and I'm on my way out the door with my two punks, neither of whom can handle the cold, it'll be a problem.

As for gardenin: cleanin out the last of my tomatoes and herbs, which are now black and droopin to the ground after four nights of hard freeze.

Not to mention the daily grind of laundry, dirty dishes, and laundry.

Then there are the upcoming holidays: Halloween costumes to wrangle, treats to make, trick-or-treatin in town (will post on that later this evening!). Refrigerators to clean out in preparation for Thanksgiving food, cloth napkins to dig out from the depth of the ironin basket, where they've been languishin since last Christmas, I think.

Not to mention the daily grind of school. Sometimes I think I'm entirely responsible for my punk's minds. Not to mention the fact that I have been the Homeroom mom every year as long as I can remember!

There's Christmas on the horizon; I want to start shoppin so I can make wise and un-hurried choices, but I'm having a hard time gettin started. I have my list, but every day I consider shoppin online for Christmas gifts…then don't, because I have so many other things that need to get done. So I'll avoid it for awhile, until I can't avoid it any longer.

I'm going low-key for Christmas this year. I just feel like it…..Remind me I said that in two months.

Then there's the trip: I'm leavin soon on a trip. It's a big trip, and important one, and there's a lot to prepare for—I'll tell ya'll about it soon. But first I have to buy crap to kill the Chinese lady beetles that have swarmed our house and power bars and make sure my oldest has jeans that don't come up above his ankles. He's growin up too fast.

There's the ice maker that's broken, the skylights that leak, the shingles that blew off one of the barns, the trash the dogs overturned last night, and an impending doctor's appointment tomorrow. And I say this with a grin, I don't think they'll be makin me wait to see the Doc tomorrow. Than heavens for small blessings.....

I might ignore it and see if it goes away.

But most of all, there's joy. Because I have animals in my life…and beauty everywhere I look…and clothing…and shelter as the weather turns cold, A couple of friends who kinda like me, Punks who call me Mom-mom, and the fact that they haven’t drug my ass off to a FEMA camp yet!

I still don't like ironin napkins, though. So I don't think I'm going to do it this year. Yeah, right…..