Chores

The other night I got home, in the dark, and started to go feed all the animals.  It was cold, it was dark, and as I slogged out in my mudd boots lugging a bucket of water, I thought..."why am I out here doing this?". The truth is that when I was 5 my Dad brought home three rabbits. They were my "responsibility" teachers. My parents didn't care if those rabbits lived or died, but I did. For the next 15 years I always had chores to do in the evening. Out in the snow, in the summer, it didn't matter. I remember heading out to the big red barn on dark cold February nights hugging a large warm glass bottle of calf manna for a doggie calf, feeding the rabbits, the steers, gathering the eggs and settling everyone for the night. Maybe it's my therapy, but now that I have it back again, I realize just how comforting it is for me to go feed, water, and make sure everyone is all set. My family probably just wishes I payed that much attention to them!