Inner Dialogue

I picked up Rachel and Matt from preschool at noon and headed home as the rain gently started falling. The satellite guy was due to arrive at 2pm, finally, after a month of trying to schedule a set-up time. The kids ate lunch and laid down for a nap. Matt fell right to sleep, but Rachel just sat on the sofa and looked at books. I answered some email, checked a few websites, logged into Blackboard, and relaxed for a few minutes. As the rain began coming down harder, I thought it was just my luck. I finally get the satellite guy out and the storm of the season kicks up so he won't be able to get on the roof to mount the dish. By 2:30, I figured he cancelled without telling me so I called him. He was at his bank in Porterville and would be up in about 20 minutes, in time for me to leave and pick up the big girls at their school. He called again around 2:50 totally lost in east Porterville somewhere. I guess my directions to follow Hwy 190 to Lake Success and turn right was too complicated. I set him on course, bundled up kids, loaded them in the truck and left for Springville School at 3pm. It is a 10 minute drive, and school gets out at 3, so I was already running late. When I dropped off the girls this morning, Emilee announced that she had left her rain coat at home because she wasn't cold. No umbrella either. So, I had a picture of them sitting on the steps in the pouring rain waiting for me to show up. By the time I got there, Emilee was soaked. At least Kym had a jacket.

I knew the satellite guy was probably sitting in my driveway by now, but I went to the feed store down the road anyhow. We needed some straw and shavings for the goats, chickens, and mud. They weren't too thrilled about loading 2 bales of straw in the rain, but the guy did it anyhow. I figured we would get home in time for me to meet Andy at the top of the road so he wouldn't have to walk in the rain from the bus. When I arrived home, the satellite guy had a ladder against the house and was checking things out. He parked horizontally in the driveway, almost blocking my access in. Kym helped me get little kids in the house and we both put on "grubby" jackets for the task ahead. The kids were getting settled while the satellite guy asked questions about the installation and scouted out the house for places to connect. Just as I was about to walk out to work on the goats, Andy called. Some excuse about missing the bus. And by the way, could I come get him because he needed his uniform since they were still going to play and march for the football game tonight? No way! I looked out the window and the buckets of water pouring off of my rooftop. Was that band director totally nuts? He apparently wanted the kids to show up at 5:30 just in case. Well by the time I ran down to Porterville to get Andy, it would almost be time to turn around and take him back down, and I would not be a happy camper if the result of that was to have the performance cancelled anyhow. I finally got the director on the phone and asked him what was up. We decided to let Andy stay in the band room until Kurt got into Porterville at around 5:30. By that time the director would decide what they were going to do and I could run down Andy's uniform if needed.

With one crisis under control, Kym and I ventured out into the rain to fix up a shelter for our little goats. Kym put in Cinderella on DVD and I instructed Emilee to keep an eye on everyone and call me on the cell phone if needed. We had a plywood house on the other side of the driveway and I thought we could drag it over to the goat pen and then position a tarp between the house and the fence to give added protection. I put on my Australian hat, the one with a brim that sort of looks like a cowboy hat, and draped the thin fabric hood of my coat over the top of it. I felt very pioneer! We jumped in the truck, and backing down the driveway because of the satellite guy, drove closer to the goat area.

I knew we were in trouble when I got out of the truck and attempted to walk over to the plywood goat house. I almost lost my boots in the wet adobe soil. One attempt to move the house and I realized what an unrealistic expectation that was going to be. However, I had Plan B in my pocket. There were two large tarps near the goat house so we dragged those across the road and over the mud to the area where the goats were shivering in the rain. We had a few extra 16' livestock panels, so I thought we could take one and put it over the top of two side panels where they meet in a corner. We could then use that to hold up a tarp draped over the top and down the sides to make a cozy corner pen. That's when the trouble began!

Trying to drag the panel across the ankle deep mud was almost impossible, but we did it. Both Kym and I had shoes totally covered in adobe clay, with a base of mud extending a good 2-3 inches past the sides of each shoe. They looked like snow shoes! We finally wrestled the panel the distance and hoisted it up on the top of the other panels to create a roof. Kym had to get inside of the pen and twist and turn several suckers off the olive tree so we could wedge the panel in securely. By this time, the tarps were full of mud and rain, very heavy and awkward. With great difficulty and much consternation, we somehow draped a soaked tarp over the panel and tied it all down. I then trekked back to the truck, covered almost entirely with mud, and cut open the straw. Just about that time the satellite guy came down and started asking me questions, in the pouring rain, so I had him haul some straw to the pen also. Hopefully his shoes are washable! Kym got in the pen and spread out the straw in a space that is hopefully big enough for all of the little critters. We tossed in some hay and went to work on the buck pen. The satellite guy said that he couldn't finish the install today and would I mind if he came back next week. Would I mind? Standing there with mud-covered boots, soaking wet, and coated with straw, what else could I say? Sure, why not?

Kym and I went back to work as the satellite guy tried to drive away. Since my truck was parked in the middle of our road, I knew he was going to have a problem getting out. Served him right! He trekked back through the mud to ask me to move the truck but I told him the keys were in it, so he moved it himself. We picked up a smaller panel and set up the bucks in a similar way to the main goat pen. This was a little easier, but walking through the mud was like slogging through knee-deep snow. In some places, my foot would sink down and I was sure I wouldn't recover my boot. At this point, Kym and I were both covered with mud and laughing at how comical it all was. Certainly made me appreciate the early pioneers who traveled a thousand miles through stuff like this.

It was getting dark and starting to rain even harder so we headed back up to the house. Since my jacket was totaled, I took it off and draped it over the side of the truck. I kicked as much mud off my boots as possible and climbed into the truck. Kym hung on to the side. We still needed to put the bales of shavings into the chicken pen. We pulled up to the chicken pen and hauled out one of the bales. Thank goodness the pen was covered with plastic, so at least it wasn't raining on our heads while we spread it out. One bale wasn't enough so we went back for the other. Just then my cell phone, in my jacket pocket rang. My hands were totally muddy so Kym answered. It was Andy. She told him to call back in the house in about 10 minutes. We quickly spread out the other bale, fed the chickens, and then took the last bale of straw to make a path between the big chicken pen and the game bird pen. Pouring rain, no jacket, water and mud streaming down my face. Yuk! My eye started stinging, probably from the mud, so I kept it closed as I spread out the last of the straw. We climbed in the truck and drove the rest of the way to the house. Both of us hosed off . It wasn't possible to get any more wet anyhow! I had Rachel reach into my jacket pocket and pull out the cell phone, and then I left the jacket outside the door. The inside phone rang and Rachel answered. Andy again. We told her to tell him to wait a few minutes and I rushed into the garage so I could come in through laundry room. Off with the muddy shoes, off with the muddy clothes, off with everything! While I am doing that, Andy calls the cell phone... then the house phone again... I guess he can't just wait! Draped in a towel, I answered his call and was relieved to hear the band director was finally showing some common sense. No marching tonight! Who was he kidding anyhow? Kurt was planning on stopping by the band room, so Andy is taken care of.

Hot shower, vanilla soap, fragrant lotion, flannel jammies. By the time Kurt and Andy walked in, we almost seemed normal again. Only the soaked and mud-drenched clothing on the laundry room floor gave it away.