(FYI... This post contains a photo of a very dead mouse, and headless snake... If that thought makes you a bit queazy... well then just skip this post.)
After the twenty hour ride home from good old California, we drove east down County Line Rd completely done. The kids spoke out loud each land mark as we drew nearer to the farm gate, "There's the blue house. Two more miles."
"There's wind mill park, just a few more blocks."
In the distance we could all see the white fence that began our property... And then there it was, the opening into the farm. EVERYONE cheered. We made our way down the dirt driveway, in between the barn and the garage, back up the little hill. Joey and my eyes scanning the fields, our mouths stuck in the shape of an upside down rainbow, our hearts all giddy. And in our silence we knew this genuine joy, that while we're waiting for heaven, God has graciously made this little farm our home!
I've learned a thing or two in the simplicity of this place. I've learned to make a killer pie crust from scratch. It works great for anything from fruit pies, to chicken pot pies.
I've discovered that I can do even the nastiest of tasks as long as I have on a thick pair of orange rubber gloves. Grandma was in town this week and she taught me how to make the family's secret recipe for spaghetti sauce. I have this thing with raw meat... plain and simple, it's disgusting. So I pulled out my orange gloves and and rolled up a dozen meatballs without sticking my tongue out or scrunching my eye brows.
I've sent texts that I never could have imagined myself texting. Late on a Tuesday night, I'm reading in the living room and two tiny mice start scampering like many small children hyped up on sugar and caffeine.
I wanna freak out, cuz mice are disgusting and in all honesty they cause my heart to go into rapid speed. But I know that I've got to buck up!! So I send this text to My Joey knowing that He's probably in some deep spiritual conversation at His pastoral staff meeting thing...
But we all know I needed a little reinforcement. And He replies with this text...
For Christmas this year Joey got Siah a BB gun. I know where it is but I have no idea how to use it. I guess sometimes in life you simply have to figure things out. I get the gun from it's secret location and I follow each step in the text. Then I camp out on the top of the couch and let my eyes scan the room for those two little rascals running around. I shoot under the couch a couple times, but miss.
By now, I'm a bit freaked out, because I know full well that they're there but I just can't see them. So I retreat to my room, hoping to find safety. I'm all tucked in and about to turn out the light when I look over at the baseboard right next to the floor heater and there staring me straight in the eye is one of the culprits and of course the gun is back in it's hiding spot.
I got out of bed, retrieved the gun and parked myself back on the couch... gun aimed and ready.
I never did actually kill one of the mice.
And I never imagined that there would ever be a day when My Joey would come home and find his city-slicker wife camped out on the couch armed for the complete destruction of the field mice invading the farmhouse.
I couldn't catch the mice... But he could.
**********
Another weekend comes to pass and the whole fam goes out to work in the yard, do some mowing, some weed-wacking, the kids move rocks, and the Mama pulls the weeds out of the flower beds around the house.
Low and behold, Papa comes upon a snake. He chops it's head off with the garden shovel, digs a hole, buries it, and gets back to work. Five seconds later, another snake, another death,another hole dug. On snake #5 I give myself a pep talk... "You need to go over there Kac... You've got to get brave... This is your life... "
So Joey lifts up another brick and out slithers the snake. Siah's standing next to me, assuring me that he's not scared... "there's nothing to be afraid of Mom... I'm not scared." Sure he's not scared? The snake slithers out from under Papa's boot and starts heading our way. My "not scared" Siah starts running towards the house screaming! I so badly want to do the same but I need to help my kiddos get over this fear (what am I saying, I need to help myself get over this fear!), so I simply back up and get out of the snakes way. By this point Joey's got the disgusting thing under his boot again and chops it right in half with the shovel!
How did I get here?? I mean seriously.
This Farm of ours, it was meant for many things. And right about now, I'm thinking that one of those things, just might be meant to make a Mama brave.
Who knows...
Maybe if I had had my bright orange, rubber kitchen gloves on, I just might of picked that snake up... :)
