My greatest challenge in my journey to reclaim Teresa after almost 18 years of marriage… is stepping into the workforce to support myself financially. This is the longest period of time I’ve gone without having a job where someone hands me a paycheck.
That does not mean I haven’t been employed. Farms and ranches hire and pay people to do what I’ve been doing. I just happen to be that farmer/rancher… on a smaller scale.
However… that job also shared me with all the tasks on the domestic front. And when you live in a rural area… you become one of the Oil Industry’s sweetest customers. You burn a lot of gas driving around several counties… grocery shopping… loading 50 lb. and 100 lb. sacks of feed… hunting down veterinary vaccines and other health aids… your own medical appointments… you name it.
And you still have all those other errands that we all tend to in city life. Hair salon appointments… shopping for clothing and shoes… cultural events. Just a few examples.
I have worked harder than any job where I’ve ever collected a paycheck… including working on that tarmac at McGhee-Tyson Airport.
Cattle do not care if there is a foot of mud in the paddock… the hotwire fencing is covered in a half-inch insulation of pure ice… rain is coming sideways like a solid blanket… temperatures are 110* Fahrenheit…. or… -16* fahrenheit. They need to eat. And they can’t feed themselves.
I’ve set up excel sheets for each animal. Healthcare… Breeding… Birthing. I’ve maintained keeping track of serial and lot numbers of all pharmaceuticals administered to our animals.
NO… we don’t use antibiotics and such… until they become ill. And we’ve only had two cases in all these years. But we do immunize for preventative measures against disease.
I’ve handled the sterile process for pulling tail hairs… electronically submitted Genetics Testing Requisitions and payments to U.C. Davis… and followed through with hard copies included with tail hairs through USPS. I’ve dealt with similar process for registering certain animals through one of the breed’s associations.
I’m 4’11″… female… and 59 years old. And I’ve been handling all this with my soon-to-be ex-husband… while he has maintained commuting to a job in the airlines… where he works inside a hangar for 12 hours each day. His schedule has never been consistent. And I’ve dealt with a great deal of time tending to our cattle by myself… which is done so twice daily.
There were two of us that refurbished an old tobacco barn built in 1920. Tearing out a third… while reconstructing inside for stalls and a tack room. There have been two of us setting in fence posts… running webbed wire and hotwire for construction of paddocks and pasture area.
There have been two of us offloading round bales of hay from the bed of a pickup truck and livestock trailer.
The calves come. Bottle feeding was an experience required on one occasion (thank God!)… through the day and night. Training for handling with halters and lead ropes. I’ve trained every one of our cattle for handling in an open area with no fencing. I’ve trained our first bull to do whatever I asked… simply by verbal commands… with complete success.
I’ve tended a vegetable garden… raising vegetables that I spent time prepping… canning… freezing… and drying… to save on the grocery bill.
I’ve done my own baking… including bread. I’m being told my cooking will be greatly missed.
Please remember… I’ve had all the housework… cooking… laundry and errands… while handling my main job… which landed me no paycheck.
How many people in this country are being given a paycheck to handle each one of the tasks I’ve just laid out in this post?
I think I’m qualified for a really good job. I think I come to the table with a lot of tenacity… commitment… common sense… problem solving… intelligence… fortitude… and GUTS… just to name a few good qualities.
I’m worth much more than only being regarded as not having been given a paycheck in a decade and being 59 years old.
My Morning's Heart 