I agree, MariaStevie. In fact, I posted something similar on another site. I pray we can remember what you wrote when those times come when we begin to question, doubt, etc.

Of course, did not hear from es today but didn't expect to and, in all honesty, I really didn't care this year. The fact that it is Mother's Day, there is no way that at some point during the day we don't think about our estranged ones. However, this year, As I started to think about es, I realized that I had come to the point where I have had enough of all this estrangement nonsense and decided I was not gong to waste any more time on it. As a result, I was perfectly fine today. Definitely a first.

We went to dinner in the late afternoon with dd and her family and her in-laws. It was okay but, I could have stayed home. You know how the restaurants are on holidays. The wait was long, the dinners were overpriced and food mediocre. I guess I look at Mother's Day as I do my faith and Christian holidays. I have a relationship with Jesus every day, not once a year. I have a relationship with my dd and her family and I really didn't need to go to a crowded and overpriced restaurant. I must be getting old(lol). Not to mention that her in-laws are nice people but we are different....from our lifestyles, our political views, etc. and we try to stay with surface conversation so as not to create any problems. I was so happy to come home to my horses and my new lab puppy and didn't even mind picking up the horse poop.

Glad this day is over.

My son overhauled one of my chainsaws for Mother's Day. "You might be a redneck if...," but I would much rather have that than a stuffy dinner. I got to do all my favorite things: be dirty, find tools, clean old parts, look at parts diagrams, and even get some kittens from my neighbor. I left a kitty for the momma cat. I know I am lucky that I have one family member left, as some here have none.

So today I will testing my chainsaw - seating the new piston - and trying to tame my new kitties before I put them out at the barn. A good day.

Oh....71380m, I hear ya. I am a city girl. Who would think I would find picking up horse poop therapeutic? And dh is teaching me how to drive the tractor so I can smooth out paddock for horses (all sand) and plow myself out of snow next year. I guess horse poop and puppies weren't the best topics for dinner conversation, but.....oh well. My dd's inlaws think "we" are rednecks. And my dh is fine with it. He is from western PA and sort of is(lol). When I saw a tree growing in his pick-up I thought that would be a good..."You might be a redneck if...."

I was a Air Force brat suburbanite and couldn't tell a sheep from a goat when I first moved to the sticks. But I like doing 'real' things, not just moving papers from an In-Box to an Out-Box, though ironically 'real' things don't pay very well.

I had the tractor indoctrination when there was no one here to even point me in the right direction, so be patient with your learning curve and don't ask for help too soon. I know I used to be pretty quick to get frustrated and let someone 'help' me, i.e. do it for me, but when that option was not available, I just took a break when I couldn't figure things out and eventually learned to be patient and let my brain think about things before I started swearing.

That was funny about the dinner conversation topics. My son wants to know if I have to say 'stomach worms' at the dinner table. Well, only during the spring - and maybe a wet fall season. Or warm winter.

lol what are the odds.. we went out to a dinner buffet with DH's sister and brother and spouses, and niece and her fiance, then went to see the house they just bought and they are putting a lot of work into.. then came home and piddled around the farm.. so relaxing! The last two days we've been feverishly tossing things out of the shed and barn that we've been "collecting" til we either build another building or figure out how to make do with what we have.. and it feels really good to lighten the load. Our community has a couple of big dumpsters out the beginning of June so we are ready! Then moved the horses around to some areas that have green grass coming up, soaked and scoured the feed pans..worked our butts off especially today and it was a happy day!

tomorrow we clean the pens which are overdue.. so lots of cleaning horse poop here too.. and goats.. cute little things.. but definitely livestock, randomly pooping just anywhere lol I just laugh to myself, I can't believe what we are doing at this age. God is good is all I can say!

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.