Everyone has "one of those days" every now and then. I seem to have more than my fair share, but I realize I'm not the only one and yes, there are those that have it much worse than I do. I was having "one of those days" last week and there it was; a sign: Garage Sale. Why not?
There was a retired couple having a garage sale. Not uncommon in our area and they had some interesting items. We began to chat about nothing in particular, I picked out a few things, gave the man my money and then it happened. He offered to help me load a particular item. I just smiled and politely refused, after all it "wasn't any heavier than a sack of feed" I told him. That's when the real conversation started.
This wasn't just a retired couple, they were retired farmers. We knew several of the same people and discussed how the community, farming, and kids today have changed. They'd had beef cattle, hogs, done some gardening, and ran a meat processing plant. When I said we had a small dairy, the older gentleman said, "That's the one thing I never would do. Milking cows takes too much time & ties you down. You have to do that 365 days a year".
What could I say? I had to agree except for one small detail...we get to do this 366 days on a Leap Year. We all had a good laugh. I explained that yes, it's pretty time consuming, but it's our way of life. Even though we spend numerous hours caring for our animals and the land, we still find time to enjoy life. Granted, it's not always fun, I can't imagine raising our family or living anywhere else.
I honestly enjoyed visiting with the retired couple and for the most part, it was the highlight of my day. There's nothing like a good conversation and I feel like I found a real treasure at that garage sale...and it didn't cost a thing.
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