Life on a Ranch

 The middle of July. It’s hot. We’re in the thick of haying. When I do see my family, they’re often one of two things: tired or grumpy. Not always both things at the same time and not usually all members at the same time, but sometimes. It’s the season when some days go well and other days something broke, didn’t go as planned, or took longer than expected. Then, what I’ve learned from experience, is that somehow at the end of it all, the work always manages to get done; in fact, an incredible amount of work manages to get done. My role through the busy seasons of our life has always ebbed and flowed depending on factors like the age of our kids, my work, and the abilities of our kids. Right now, I feel like I have a really solid grasp on my role: relief. I’m the relief staff. Relief comes in a lot of different forms, but there are a few I’m focused on as of late. My day starts and ends with food. The mornings include hot coffee and chai tea while I provide breakfast options—sometimes they flexibility in mind. I’ve been keeping breakfast burritos in the fridge because they’re easy to heat up; yogurt and granola is an option; I can whip together a smoothie if they’re feeling it, and the cupboard has a stock of various protein bars to choose from. I’m typically slicing fruit for lunches they can snag, and this week I made some high protein blueberry muffins. Lucy and Buck are the first family members I typically see in the mornings. While they get ready, I pack lunches—one sandwich with no mustard, one with no mayonnaise and two with both. I try not to run out of lunch meat but keep canned chicken in the cupboard for chicken salad in case I do. Sometimes I make pasta salad or something packable besides sandwiches. Just like anything done repeatedly, sandwich making is a task  I get tired of. Sometimes I buy croissants or something “fun” to make sandwiches with- a croissant can really add some extra excitement to my morning routine! The girls always ask for fresh fruit and summer is an easy time to fulfill that request. Dinner is a guessing game—never sure what time anyone will be home, I try to have a meal actively in the works before I head out to do the evening irrigation. Speaking of irrigating, I have a real love-hate relationship with that task. It’s similar to sandwich making, I get tired of doing the same thing over and over. But I do love water so I wear shorts and water shoes when I move our wheel lines- the cold water on my feet is the equivalent of making a sandwich on a croissant, just adds a little bit of enjoyment to an otherwise monotonous task. When he’s home, Cooper helps me irrigate. Never short for words, he keeps me entertained with a variety of subjects; he’s been to basketball camp and Ascension camp in Cove, so he’s had a lot to fill me in on. I appreciate that he’s not afraid to make a mad dash to run in and fix leaky Sprinklers. He’s much faster than I am and manages to stay somewhat dry. Cooper and I irrigate and also keep the troughs full for horses and anything in the corral. I try to work long days during the week, scrunching what I can into four days, so I can have longer weekends to be helpful and also to catch up. I use the weekends to do the bulk of our laundry. One of the ways my family needs relief is by having clean clothes to wear. No surprise to any of you, they all come home in the evenings really dirty. Having a stack of clean work jeans, t-shirts, and for Buck, snap shirts, makes a better start to the day. And to end the day, clean sheets always make for better sleep. Technically, all of those things are just standard maintenance to keep the crew running smoothly. They’re the things no one typically notices… until they aren’t happening. But I do try to add some extra relief. I made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies this week, something I haven’t done in quite a while. There’s also a new little coffee shop in La Grande called “Whitewater Tea and Coffee” and they have a drink called “Banana Pudding Matcha”. Lucy thinks it “sounds disgusting”, and Cooper would rather have something else, but Katelyn and I are really into it—it’s matcha tea with a scoop of banana-pudding type-cream-stuff in it. One afternoon I bounced through the hay field with two—one for Kate and one for Buck to try. The thrill of the fun drink (including the caramel drizzled meticulously on the inside of the cup) all might have been lost on Buck. He tipped it back and drank his in the same way you might drink a Gatorade, guzzled in a couple of big sips. “Not too bad,” he said, handing me his empty cup. I think Gatorade or iced tea might be cheaper sweet-relief for him next time! And as for me… my relief comes with a second cup of coffee after everyone scurries out the door in the morning. It comes with a good book I’m listening to on my way to and from work. It comes with the fun of a 4th of July BBQ with our Frisch friends and a Sunday afternoon on the Minam with the Cunningham's and Royes'. It comes with the quiet of the evenings—the sound of the sprinklers running and the air cooling down. It comes with the last tired family member pulling into the driveway at night— washing up, guzzling some water and settling into a chair with a plate of good food. It comes with the tales of their day—what went right and what didn’t. And finally, relief comes with the kind of sleep I fall into when everyone is home, tucked in their beds, resting up for another full day out here in Union County. ~Chelsea