NIcks & Cuts/Shearing With Mom

The month of June has been rainy...very, very rainy. I heard the weatherman say this morning that we received 1/3 of an average year's rain TOTAL during just the last 30 days.

Yesterday I found that the boys left an extension cord, the medical supplies, and the the shears in a wheelbarrow, OUTSIDE, over the weekend. It rained so hard that the wheelbarrow filled up with water and all of the items were completely submerged.

Thankfully, the box that houses the shears and the corresponding combs, oils, and blades, protected the machine, for the most part.

The sun was out so I mowed until the lawnmower died and wouldn't restart (argh).

My oldest son, now 19, offered to catch and shear one of our new Cormo-Merino wethers, "Licorice." I had noticed that the animal was limping and he had been carrying at least two season's worth of wool.

We haven't worked on an animal together in awhile, my oldest son and I. I'm slow, and apparently I make my son very nervous (he commented that "it's like learning to drive with you. Sometimes it's just better to learn from someone else").

He was so nervous that he had several "oops" moments while cutting, leaving the animal bloody under the belly and on the neck. The shears fell to the floor, breaking the brand new replacement comb.

I wasn't grumpy.

Or a nag.

Or loud.

I'm working hard, in fact, to choose HAPPY.

In spite of the political climate, international events, and a very discouraging situation at my full time job, I want to be an encouragement to others and to "keep on the sunny side of life."

Maybe I can learn a thing or two from old "Licorice," who, despite being nicked and cut by the shears, seemed glad to have the wool trimmed from around his eyes and ears.

J and I pushed the lawnmower into the shop and it started to rain again. WE enjoyed a bowl of ice cream and I went upstairs to read (a fictional novel instead of a textbook!)


"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
Audrey Hepburn

from Brainyquote