Kids Are Hazardous To Your Sleep

Isn’t it funny as parents how we wish and hope for the next stage in our kid’s lives? We think if they could just do this, life would be so much easier. We wish time away, when in reality we should be enjoying the moment we are in. I don’t know how many times I have heard parents say, “I can’t wait for my baby to start crawling.” Boy is that a mistake. Soon we all find out as parents that life was a lot less exhausting when junior staid where we put them. We didn’t have to worry about what they might get into or where they might go.

Then we wish they were out of diapers. OK, so that is a valid wish and one that I cannot find any downside too. Car seats are another thing we cannot wait for them to get out of. They are a pain, especially if you have to move them, but quickly we find out that traveling without them is not much easier and leads to more backseat fighting if you have two or more kids. Heaven help you if you are anxious to have them move to the front seat, then you can say goodbye to controlling the radio.

Driving was a huge milestone in our house and having both kids be licensed drivers was an even greater occasion. Sure it meant two more cars, more insurance and an exponential increase in gas usage, but it the benefits would outweigh the costs. Or so I thought. No more rushed early mornings for school activities, late night dashes to pick up from a dance and no early afternoon rushing to a practice on a non-school day. Life would be easier, or so I thought.

Life might be easier in a physical sense, not needing to leave the house but it did get more stressful mentally. Sure, in theory I could get more sleep because I do not have to stay up, leave the house and drive. Yes, I can go to sleep when I want too. However, I find myself watching a lot of late night TV, waiting to see the lights come down the road. Then, and only then, I can breathe a sigh of relief and go to bed. I know I do not need to stay up; rest assured the kids have told me that, I can’t help it.

Last Sunday was a prime example. It was homecoming week at school and they were kicking it off with a bonfire and movie night (no school on Monday).  Both kids drove to the event because a) no one wants to be seen riding with a sibling and b) they both had plans after the event. Ike was coming home and Tatum was going to a friend’s house for the night. Instead of waiting up I decided to try going to bed at a decent hour. Soon I drifted off watching the news.

I was rousted out of a peaceful sleep by the phone ringing. A bleary look at the caller id revealed Ike’s number. Heart pounding I answered. “Dad do I have an insurance card?” I immediately heard on the other end. I explained it was in the glove box and repressed the urge to ask why until the very end. “Because the deputy asked for it, I will call and explain,” was the answer. No worry about falling asleep waiting on that call.

In a couple of minutes I got the return call. He had been pulled over and had gotten a warning. A huge wave of relief rushed over me and I decided to wait up (sleep would not come for a while now anyway) until he made it home. As soon as he pulled into the driveway, the phone rang and it was child number two. It seems as though her car would not start, but she had gotten a ride to her friend’s house. Soon I found myself watching late night TV wishing I could sleep and wondering what it will be like in those few short years when the kids are out of the house.

Experience has taught me that the next stage will bring its own unique set of benefits and worries and I guess it is just human to look forward to it. I am sure that worries about the kids will always cut into my beauty sleep just like earlier worries in earlier stages have taken a toll. One thing I have learned is to enjoy the good things about each stage and not let the challenges get too far under my skin. As I assure many new parents who are stressed over the challenges at hand, blink and it will all pass in a heartbeat.

Not the Dumbest Thing I Have Ever Done (Yet)

Yesterday I saw dark clouds building off in the western sky. Something about the threat of rain when we have been so dry puts a bounce in your step. I rushed out to do chores before the rain reached our house.  In retrospect, that may not have been the smartest thing I have ever done, in fact many meteorologists would tell you rushing to do anything outside ahead of a thunderstorm is not very smart. Then again no one ever accused me of being very smart.

So I rushed out the door, encouraged by the thought of being able to enjoy my second cup of coffee while listening to the rain pitter patter on the roof of my house. It was going to be the relaxing morning. Sure I needed to get other things done and maybe relaxing with a cup of coffee was not the smartest thing I could do but it certainly wasn’t the dumbest. As it turned out it wasn’t even the dumbest thing I would do within the next hour.

I hurriedly fed each pen of sheep, grained the horses and fed the dogs. All of this went very smoothly and soon I was done, well, almost. As I grained and fed I noticed that nearly every water tank needed filled. Part of my normal morning routine is to top off each tank, however, usually everything is OK if I can’t. This morning was different, the extreme heat had made all the critters drink a lot of water and every tank needed to be filled. I trudged back to the hydrant and that is when I started hearing the thunder.

I filled up the first couple of tanks and the thunder sounded like it was getting closer. Sure enough, it was and soon I started to watch the lightening streak across the not-nearly-far-enough sky. So there, there I was holding a water hose, leaning on a metal fence, filling a metal water tank with lightening way too close. It still was not the dumbest thing I would do that day or even that hour.

I was on the last tank, thinking about my soon to be relaxing morning when I spotted some movement on the road, west of my house. Cows, and not just any cows but my cows, the very cows that were supposed to be a mile down the road. I shut the water off, jumped in the truck and started to herd them back down the road in the direction they had just come from. All the while, the thunderstorm was bearing down on me. It started to sprinkle and the lightening got ever so much closer. However, it still was not the dumbest thing I was going to do that morning.

Soon I got the cows turned around and they slowly, begrudgingly meandered back to their assigned pasture. Mostly I could follow in the pickup but every once in a while, usually on top of a hill, one old cow would need some extra attention and I would have to get out and personally nudge her along. Finally we got back to the pasture and I let them back in. I was now soaked from standing in the rain and walking through the tall grass along the edge of the road. Did mention it was still lightening?

A quick check of the fence along the road and I knew how they had escaped. Someone had driven through the electric fence and taken a tour of my pasture. I do not know why they did or what their intentions were but I am fairly certain what I would have done if I had found them and it would have been intentional. In any case, the fence needed to be fixed or I would be herding cows later that day also.

There I was soaked to the bone, fixing an electric fence, in a thunderstorm, on top of a hill with lightening flashing all around and that, friends, was the dumbest thing I did that day and had done for a long time. Funny, how you recognize the danger after it passes. But I did recognize it and that is why this morning as I walked out the door and I heard the thunder crack, I turned back around and poured that second cup of coffee. This morning if the cows come down the road, I guess I will just have to put more coffee on and invite them in but they are going to have to wait until the storm is over.

The Slippery Slope of Gun Control

This past week I went into Wal-Mart to purchase some ammunition. When I asked the clerk he said that my purchase would be limited to three boxes of .22 ammunition. Now I had planned on only buying two boxes but when given that challenge I bought three instead. Was this a great marketing ploy by Wal-Mart or something else? I lean toward marketing ploy.

It was the next question that really got me going. The clerk then asked me if the ammunition was going to be used in a rifle or a pistol. My response was to ask him why he needed to know. He said it was for inventory purposes. OK, for my non-shooting friends, it makes no difference at all whether the ammunition is shot through a pistol or a rifle. It is all the same.

I then told him that it really wasn’t any of his or Wal-Mart’s business. However, if he had to put something down, he could pick.  I assured him that it was legal for me to buy the ammunition and that I was going to use it for legal purposes and that was all he really needed to know. I made my purchase and walked away wondering what had just happened.

The past couple of weeks I have watched the gun debate from a distance as it raged on both in person and through social media. I am an unabashed gun owner and avid hunter. I own my guns for sport but I would not hesitate to protect my family. I believe it is my right as a citizen of the United States to own my firearms and that is not up to debate. I also think it is important that you know where I stand.

However, I also pride myself as a reasonable person and I try to see both sides of an issue. So I listened to my friends who are in favor of more gun control laws and considered their points. That was until last week and my experience at the sporting goods counter. I thought it was time I expressed my opinion.

I have two thoughts when it comes to more gun control laws. My first thought goes back to my days of being an Extension Agent. Over the years I have seen many rules put into fair books because of an incident. It is never a good idea to create rules (or laws) in the heat of the moment. New rules or laws should only be approved after a great deal of thought and discussion.

I have also found that a thicker rule book only manages to trip up the innocent. Those intent on cheating (or breaking the law) will find a way to do so, no matter how many rules (or laws) you make. Rather than making new laws it is much better to focus on enforcing those already in place.

The other thought I had came from my work advocating for agriculture. Imposing new laws or regulations proposed by activists is a slippery slope. In the world of agriculture it began with the public giving in on gestation crates. It was just a small number of farmers who utilized them and most of us involved in agriculture did not really understand how they were used. We were slow in coming to their defense and before we knew it gestation crates were banned in a couple of states. Animal rights activists were emboldened by their victories and pushed in for more restrictions on animal agriculture.

I do not own a firearm like those being discussed, nor do I own a clip that will hold more than ten shells but I also do not think banning them will make people safer. It will, however, make it easier to consider bans or limits on other firearms. Once started down a slippery slope it is hard to put the brakes on.

Those are my thoughts on this matter and it is OK if you disagree with me. Debate and consideration of all points of view is what makes this country great.  I only ask that careful consideration be put into lawmaking and the rights of all be considered