At this time of year, the season of giving, it's so easy to get swept up in the holiday shuffle and bustle. The simple gifts each day brings can easily be overlooked or taken for granted. For just a moment each day this week I'm really making it a point to pause, reflect and appreciate. It feels especially important to me, in a year that has been spectacularly difficult although I'm working on seeing that too as it's own gift.
Simple Gifts, day one:
Teamwork
Mike, Holly and I spent this morning rounding up the remaining sheep at the top of the hill, bringing them to their winter barn-yard. This job is so much simpler when tackled before the ground is snow-scaped and icy and when the wind isn't making your nose run like a spigot. So naturally, I've been putting it off for weeks. No surprise there, procrastination is my specialty (in college I double majored in English and the art of leaving everything 'til the last minute).
Sheep are always ambivalent about changes in routine. You've got to get them to move in unison and generally on the first try. Once a few of them get spooked, paranoia becomes airborne. Then even the calmest sheep act nutty. It took several efforts to get all of them into the catch pen. We then pondered the best way to get them all into the trailer.
It took bribes. And letting Mike take the lead, since they love following him (whereas this group for unknown reasons prefers chasing me).
The best part about working with Mike and Holly is that we each have a different approach to the business of getting sheep to cooperate. When you work with animals it's really important not to be rigid. If plan A is a disaster and plan B turns out to be not so great, you have to quietly move on to plan C. Sometimes even plan D. It's a process of give and take, being calm and patient with the animals. And with each other.
Holly and I were so excited to finally get them all in, we shut the trailer with Mike inside!
It feels good to have everyone back to the barn now.
Feel free to share a story of a simple gift for today.
