{"id":1179,"date":"2011-08-31T16:22:07","date_gmt":"2011-08-31T23:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=1179"},"modified":"2011-08-31T16:22:07","modified_gmt":"2011-08-31T23:22:07","slug":"chores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/1179","title":{"rendered":"Real Worth of Farm Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tTravel. It\u2019s something I do these days. More than I\u2019d prefer. If I didn\u2019t HAVE to travel, I\u2019d probably never go more than 30 miles past the end of my lane. But because it seems to be what\u2019s required of me these days, I\u2019ve figured out how to make it work for me. I\u2019ve discovered it\u2019s in the little things, the perks. A handmade travel case I adore. The snacks I prepare the night before. The books I get to read. The luxury of a quiet hotel room that\u2019s all mine. The dinner I pack on ice that greets me when, travel weary, I open my suitcase the first night I arrive. Time to paint my toenails. Time to think. Stare out a window.<\/p>\n

When I hooked up with my friend Jo in NC recently, she asked what I was doing for dinner the first night. I mentioned my little ice pack\/dinner routine. She scrunched up her nose and said, \u201cOf course<\/em> you pack a dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the little things.<\/p>\n

Most of my flights out leave at 5:30 am, meaning my alarm sounds off at 1:55 am. Bathe. Finish packing. Load. I leave in the dark, but before I make my final ascent out of here, I always stop to say, \u201cGoodnight, little farm. Goodnight, little family. Goodnight moon.\u201d With my hand gripping the handle of my jeep, I do, I say it every time and then I take one last deep gulp of good, clean air before I turn my life, limb, and soul over to the airport gods. Come what may, I gave proper gratitude.<\/p>\n

I have this notion that in that moment when I\u2019m about to take a licking of some sort, far away from home, far away from all that\u2019s familiar, I\u2019ll have ONE thing to lean on. That proper goodbye. That out loud thanks I gave. I HAD time to say goodbye and I DID.<\/p>\n

After each successful trip, I drive home borderline giddy but once I\u2019m here and I\u2019ve walked through my door, I feel undone, discombobulated, disoriented. Dang it, EVERY TIME. Mired in a loblolly.<\/p>\n

Hot bath? A walk?<\/p>\n

Because I\u2019ve been unable over time to figure out how to make myself FEEL better in those first few hours back home, my friends have found the solution. My animal friends.<\/p>\n

We need hay.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Our water buckets want a good scrub.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Our stall (litter box on a grand scale) needs to be mucked out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a burr in my tail.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pebble in my hoof.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My mane is tangled.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Goober in my eye.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

WE NEED. WE WANT.<\/p>\n

I give.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the little givings. It\u2019s the non-verbal NEED. The snorting. The smell of animal. The ecstatic sound my milk cow made when I gave her a handful of green bean vines.<\/p>\n

Because that\u2019s where the energy is. The alive, fresh, before-society, primal, grounding, PLACE is. The you-better-get-at-it motivation that MOVES me to a better place, no travel required. Pulls me from my HUMAN what-I-feel-is-so-important place.<\/p>\n

When I try to BE ZEN, I\u2019m too human. When I\u2019m with my animals, my human self disappears.<\/p>\n

Animals REQUIRE that you accept them, as is. Out there in the world, it\u2019s all about who I\u2019m trying to be, think I am. When I\u2019m with my animals, I\u2019m generous. I\u2019m calm. I have an open heart.<\/p>\n

A Zen proverb says, Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.<\/p>\n

Okay.<\/p>\n

I get it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s looking like I\u2019m down with:<\/p>\n

Before travel, give thanks, say goodbye. After travel, haul manure, pack water.<\/p>\n

Pack a dinner.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Travel. It\u2019s something I do these days. More than I\u2019d prefer. If I didn\u2019t HAVE to travel, I\u2019d probably never go more than 30 miles past the end of my lane. But because it seems to be what\u2019s required of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[55,291,385,430,545,848,917],"class_list":["post-1179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gratitude","tag-animals","tag-farm","tag-gratitude-2","tag-horses","tag-maryjane","tag-stress","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}