Good work, team. Good work.
If calving recap were a list of emotions it would look something like this:
Excitement
Enthusiasm
Fatigue
Frustration
Hope
Second guessing
Relief
Disappointment
Insomnia
Fun
Pride
Anger
Regret
Defeat
Triumph
Grateful
And that’s just the first week.
If calving recap were a list of questions it might look something like this:
Can life get any better?
Are those front feet or back feet?
When was the last time I brushed my teeth? Has she been sucked?
Have you seen the forecast?
Is that snow falling AGAIN?
Why did she have that calf right there?
Can you believe we get to do this for a living? Can I change jobs?
Is she taking the calf?
When was the last time I ate?
Wanna run through them for me?
What’s that smell?
Why is she claiming the wrong calf? Seriously????!
If calving recap were a to-do list it would look something like this:
Run from a protective mama cow-check
Sit and wait for a new calf to stand and suck-check
Graft a calf-check
Beg the cow to take the graft-check
Mess up writing the number on a new ear tag-check
Pull a calf in on the calf sled-check
Check the calving lot in a blizzard-check
Mistake a pile of a manure for a calf-check
Get to a calf just in time-check
Find a calf a little too late-check
Check the weather-check
Curse the weather-check
Take a nap in the pick up-check
Eat supper at 10 pm-check
Bottle feed a calf-check
Put a calf in the warmer-check
Put a calf in your pick up-check
Put a calf in your bathtub-check
Milk a cow-check
If my kids gave the calving recap it would sound something like this:
“My dad says he’ll be right back and then he’s gone FOREVER.”
“I love letting a calf suck on my finger.”
“Can we name that one ________?”
“I got to drive the Ranger!”
“Bedding the sheds with straw starts out really fun but I get really tired of it. I also think it’s fun to lay in the straw and fall back into it and even roll around in it. But then I realize it just gets really, really itchy.”
“It’s the best when Dad lets me go with him late at night to check. I also have a very hard time staying awake during those checks.”
“I always remember the number of the calves I got to tag.”
“Sometimes it’s kinda gross.”
“My dad comes home smelling really weird and his clothes are really dirty.”
“It feels good for Dad to give me a job that I can do on my own.”
“When Dad has been up all night, I have to be really quiet when he comes in to take a nap during the day. I’m not very good at that.”
“When I pray I always thank God for healthy calves.”
“It is SOOOOOOO hard to be quiet when we are working near the cows.”
“My favorite jobs are the ones where I get to ride the 4 wheeler!”