Rain, 'Riting, and GMAT 'Rithmatic. Arg!

Raining here today. A nice break from the oppressive summer heat. Momma J even got Dad to put in an air conditioner in the bedroom. Well, actually J and I put it in, Dad just dealt with it. The humidity is still awful, but that’s summer in Michigan. One of these days we’re all going to have gills again, I swear.

Working on book reviews, my WIP, and other writing-related projects this morning, so not even out of jammies yet. One of my fav parts about the writer thing. Looking to get my grad school ap off today or tomorrow and start that rolling. One of the best parts about the CDM program at SVSU is students can work for clients while in school, so it’s encouraged to make money and study at the same time. What’s not great about that?

Took a walk through the cows yesterday and everybody (save the big red bitch, but that’s typical) is looking heavy in calf. Essential, my oldest cow, and a heifer that’s about a half-pint short of a full-load (I blame her horns since they probably put undue pressure on her brain) are looking the closest, but a few others look a few weeks out as well. It’s gonna get crazy around here, I tell you what. Next year I hope to have the girls synchronized to squeeze calving into a predetermined weekend instead of having calving spread from “sometime” in “early August” to “maybe sometime around late October.” But that was how it worked out this year so deal with it and move on. It’s the farmer way. :-)

This isn't one of mine, by the way. Though the horns are getting close, or at least J and his arm think so...
http://www.gimmecorn.com/cow-tongue-biggest.html

Days you wanna tell em to f*^# off, grab your shit, and leave

We’re finally set to knock down all the hay today. If we get through this hay season without me blowing up at Dad again, it’ll be a miracle. Don’t get me wrong, I have a great dad, but as any farm kids out there know, sometimes getting along and running a business and living together aren’t easy combinations. It’s not like we can leave our beefs at the office. We still come home and have to live together. We’ve got old age an treachery versus youth and vigor. And my dad is over sixty, so it’s all the more apparent. How he wants to do and manage things is not how I do, and vice versa. Making it work is a daily challenge, one I’m coming to dread more and more, since coming from a very closed-mouthed generation and being less than forthcoming to emotions and new ideas, my dad is getting increasingly hard to communicate with as he grows older. It’s a scary thing, not just from a business standpoint, but also as a daughter, to realize that you’re grown and suddenly a parent is failing, either mentally or physically or both. If anyone else has tips for dealing with this, I’d love to hear from you. I don’t want to spend the last years of my dad’s life fighting with him and being pissed off over everything. How do you deal with someone who doesn’t operate on the same level of reality as the rest of the world, either from personal choice or from failing mental faculties? Especially in a farm setting where if I were a son, I could have had an easier time taking over the business.

On a cheerier note, the cows are fat, black, and sassy with baby bellies and I get to see my honey tonight. =D