Picking up the Slack
Being a homesteading family, we have to help each other out all the time. If someone is absent, someone else has to pick up the slack. The animals cannot go without eating or water. The goats have to be milked. The weeds in the garden do not wait either. Homesteading is a lot of work. If it was not so rewarding, so many people would not be striving to live a more green and self-sufficient life like us.
In addition to the family farm and its responsibilities, my husband also manages my father’s ranch. It is a cattle and horse ranch. There is always something to be done on the ranch. Fences need to be repaired, cattle worked, calves to wean, pastures shred, etc. Horses have to be fed, too. Their feet need to be trimmed every six weeks. They need to be exercised and ridden. They need training. Everyday is different in this line of work. You never know what the day will bring.
Two and a half weeks ago my husband had an accident. He had rebuilt a transmission for a pick-up truck. As he was moving it on the jack, my husband tripped and fell. Unfortunately, the transmission fell too. It landed right on his fibula bone. Fortunately, he did not break anything. He bruised the bone badly and possibly tore his muscle.
He cannot get around very well. He still hobbles around almost three weeks later. His leg swells everyday. My husband tries to take care of it. He elevates his leg, applies ice, etc. I keep waiting for it to get better, but it hasn’t. It needs to heal.
My kids and I are picking up his slack not just on our farm, but on the ranch as well. We decided to take off a week from schooling because we could not find the time to add it to our day. We have done a variety of chores and jobs. Of course we feed and water all the animals. We have separated out the cull calves from the keepers and taken them to the sale. We have watched a horse chiropractor and ferrier work on our horses. We have ridden and worked several horses. We have put out hay to the weaned calves.
At first I was happy to help. I knew it was a temporary set-back and that soon my husband would regain his health. Weeks later I am still happy to help, but I am much more tired. I am so grateful that he will return to his old self as soon as his injury heals. We are lucky that nothing more serious happened, but it makes me think.
It makes me think of the women in the past who were left behind during wartime to hold the fort down. They had to do it indefinitely as they did not know when the war would end. Some had to continue carrying on when their husband did not return from the battlefield. It makes me think of men and women both who have left to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan today. They have a family somewhere picking up the slack. It makes me think of all the spouses with an ill partner. Whether the illness is terminal or not, they are happily picking up the slack at home.
These men and women are true heroes. They faithfully work harder and keep the family home and business running. They are tired. They are weary. They are true servants in the Christian sense. If you know anyone who fits this description, please take the time to encourage them. A word of encouragement as simple as it sounds really does have an impact. If you want to do more, offer to help. Fix them dinner, wash the dishes, mow the yard, or give them the night off.
So for all the men and women out there holding down the fort and/or picking up the slack, thank you. Thank you for keeping your family together. Thank you for being a great example to your family and others. Thank you for doing what we all would like to think we would do in your position. You are an inspiration to us all.
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Lara,
You are a hero, as well. Not only do you teach your children the value of family, hardwork, self-sufficiency, and christian morals, you teach others ,as well, through your website. Teachers are heroes in their own right and you, my dear, are a teacher of great values. Thank you.
I am so touched. Thank you, Crystal.