Life on a Ranch

 Happy New Year! Writing the date with “2025” is going to take some getting used to. It always takes a while to switch over to the New Year but switching over to ‘25? That just seems like too high of a number. I’m baffled that it’s been 25 years since Y2K. Speaking of time, it’s been somewhat of a blur having Christmas and New Year’s right smack dab in the middle of the week. I’ve hardly been able to keep track of what day of the week (or weekend) it is! Christmas-on-a-Wednesday was pretty quiet and low-key at our house this year. Buck, Cooper and I, as well as my folks, woke up before the girls. I put our traditional breakfast casserole (pre-made the night before by my mom and me) in the oven and got the coffee brewing while Buck headed out to feed calves. By the time he was back in the house, Katelyn was awake, too. She and Cooper were chomping at the bit to start opening presents. Cooper was given the OK to wake up Lucy (it only took a couple of times!) so she could come out and join us. We unwrapped presents one-by-one and even took a break part way through to eat some breakfast and get a refill on our coffee. I was primarily gifted items that included the words “stress relieving” or “de-stress”…. which I found to be an interesting theme and took note of! Katelyn got me an electric coffee mug that can be connected to my phone allowing me to adjust the temperature and keep it warm, even when I’m out of the room, or more likely, out of my office. I have been known to have 4-5 mugs of half-drank cold coffee on my desk at any given time and a cup of coffee, forgotten in the microwave, is not an uncommon thing to find. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to trying out my new mug and maybe I’ll even finish some hot coffee this year! The funniest gift was from Cooper to Buck. A couple years ago, after Buck was found stealing Lucy’s “crocs” (to run outside and grab firewood or do a quick chore) a few too many times, she got him his very own camouflage crocs. Well, a few weeks ago, Cooper found Buck a pair of spurs to wear on those crocs. They’re plastic, but pretty heavy duty! Cooper was so excited when he found them, he could hardly wait to give them to his dad on Christmas morning. They were a hit and Buck im mediately clipped onto the heel strap of his crocs where they’ve been jingling away, just like real spurs, ever since. With the spurs strapped on and Christmas tucked away, the New Year is looming. And I have to admit, I do like a fresh start. In years past, I’ve come up with a “theme word” for the upcoming year. I haven’t done that in a couple of years. Last year, I didn’t want to get too deep and so I kept my resolution simple; I actually said I wanted to make more recipes with puff pastry. And if you want to measure my success, I did have a 100% increase by completing one recipe as opposed to the previous year where I made zero recipes with puff pastry. This year, I feel more serious about setting an intention for 2025. And when I think through my life and this mid-life stage I’m in, as well as the residual feeling of the busy holiday season we just got through, there is one thing that stands out above all other ambitions or intentions. I really want to rush, less. Don’t get me wrong, I like it when our life is full. I don’t know if it’s the nurse in me or what exactly, but I actually function pretty well in the chaos of a busy schedule and thrive with a lot going on. But within our full life, I don’t like being rushed. When I consider rushing less, I immediately feel relief. I want to have time, within the fullness, to enjoy the present rather than rushing to get the next thing accomplished. If I take out the internal rush I often feel, there are so many things to enjoy. For example, I have a pile of old mushy apples sitting in our mudroom, waiting to go out to the horses. I keep noticing them when I walk in or out of the house and I’ve actu ally considered throw ing them to the corral from our yard. Tomor row, I’m going to slow down long enough to take the apples out to our lil’ herd of ranch horses. I’m going to cut the apples into chunks and feed them to our trusty steeds. I’m go ing to slow down long enough to smell their horse breath on my face and rub their necks and scratch the bellies of the ones who love it. And when Spring comes, I’m going to throw a saddle on one and I’m going to do something really crazy- I’m going to go for a ride just to ride. And I’m not going to be in a rush to get a job done or accomplish a task. This week I started a shop clean out project and without being in a rush, I actually enjoyed sorting and evaluating what we need and don’t need. I stopped long enough to consider new organizational plans and to consider a better workflow for when we do get busy. I like having good systems, I just have to slow down long enough to create one. The thing is… there’s always more to be done. The life of a mom, of a nurse, of a ranch-wife is one that leaves a constant trail of to-do’s. And I’ve been on this trail long enough that I haven’t been bored in a very, very long time. I’m not so naïve to think that by not rushing I’ll somehow enjoy every task on my list. I mean, year-end books and tax prep are at the top of my list and since I’m behind, I’m probably not going to enjoy working on those. But I am wise enough to know that rushing through them won’t increase the accuracy or quality of my work. So, with the New Year upon us, my intention is set: I want to be diligent in my pursuit to rush, less. I want to be present with the humans (as well as the animals I care about). I want to slow down long enough to observe more and love more while I enjoy our very normal, very full life, out here in Union County. ~Chelsea