Saturday, August 30, 2008

Queen of the Coop

I feel good. Things are good. Things are moving. I’m going to be vague at the moment, but only because I feel content enough to let well enough alone. I will, however, say that I have noticed some of the ways that I’m changing. Of course there are a million ways I’ve changed (and will change) that I won’t notice for years. But the way evident to me as an insider is in my ever changing idea about what to go back to school for. Because going back to school is a guaranteed, it’s a constant factor of my changing mindset, interests, and whims. No need to hold it down, it’ll change again…but it’s my evidence: I’m growing. And I’m growing up too. Every day.

Using that category as the sole factor for the moment: Seeing as I’ve changed my mind so frequently over this past year (minus two weeks), I’m eager to see how many different routes pop up during this next year (plus a couple months).

Considering November will mark my first Presidential vote, I’ve decided to do something about the “I don’t want to spout uninformed opinions” mentality I’ve been hiding behind. I remember telling my grandpa once about preferring one candidate over another because I had a “better feeling” about one. (I was fourteen.) Well while the rest of my entries demonstrate my “go with your gut” inclination, that doesn’t quite roll with me when it comes to casting a vote. So I made a chart. It took very little time to actually make a visual of each candidate and where they stood on the issues that are most important to me. It doesn’t surprise me that after my (more educated) analysis, I’ve confirmed my previous preference. But now I feel more confident about why I feel one way or another.

And a little village humor now…I was home alone last night and then for the good part of today. So I was left in charge of the poultry. Seriously. It was my job to lock ‘em up at night and let ‘em loose in the morning. Did you know that birds will put themselves to bed at nightfall? I was imagining needing to chase the chickens into the coop before it became too dark to see, then consequently slipping in the dark mud, getting cranky, and leaving some of the chicks out to get eaten by village monsters. But no…I peaked in the coop and heard the “peep peep” of baby chicks, closed the door and went after the turkeys. The turkeys, too, put themselves away at night. They were perched up on ladders, side-by-side facing the wall. I closed the door and chuckled at the fact that it’s taken me nine months to be “farm helpful,” and even then, I didn’t do much. I did, however, get myself out of bed at seven – early even on non-Saturdays – to let the birds out…who didn’t rush out because it was raining. I wanted to see the birds run. I wanted them to fly out at my face with excitement! They didn’t, so I went back to bed.

But I am definitely much more comfortable living here. The school year starts again Monday and 13 days from now will mark One Year in Country (which isn’t quite the same as One Year Left). Here we go.