OK--this one I'm telling on myself. Since idiotic comments come naturally to me, and pretty often, most of you won't be a bit surprised by this little story. I actually meant to tell it sooner, but I got busy and forgot about it until last night.
When we were in Oklahoma for the 4th of July (our yearly tradition), we had a great time visiting with family. Rex's brother Keith and sister-in-law Robin own and operate a chicken farm AND a dairy, and they keep VERY busy, as you can imagine. Often, we don't get to spend that much time visiting with them (or at least not as much as we'd like) because they are always working. This time while we were there, they both came down one evening and stayed and visited for quite a while, which was so nice! They stayed up later than normal, which I know was a sacrifice for them since they get up before God does in the mornings to milk. But we were so glad for the time spent with them!
Now that I've set up the background, I'll get on with my story . . . So, Robin and I were sitting on the couch enjoying some girl talk, which is kind of rare. It was getting pretty late, and Robin mentioned that they needed to get home pretty soon, even though they were thoroughly enjoying the visit. I remarked that it was definitely past their bedtimes, and that morning was going to come way too early. She agreed and said that in addition to milking the next morning, they were going to have to dry off cows. Now this city girl doesn't know much about dairy farms or cows (although I know more than I did before I married into Rex's family), and I had no idea what drying off cows meant. I thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Is it supposed to rain tonight?" Robin laughed and laughed and then proceeded to explain that the process of drying off cows involves removing the expectant cows from the herd and giving them a rest from milking several weeks before they calve. Then, once the babies are born, the cows return to being milked every day. I'm sure she explained the reason behind it all, but I've slept since then and don't remember. But I had to totally laugh at my ignorance because I was picturing the two of them out there before dawn with big ol' towels DRYING OFF some very wet cows after a thunderstorm (because, of course, you don't want any of that nasty rainwater running off the cows and into the milk!)
No, I'm not even a little bit country. ALL city. And very thankful that God didn't call me to dry off cows, no matter what that entails. :)
