Chickens and Rabbits

There are few things more important than learning responsibility. Now my parents had no problem teaching me this, but it took me a little while to get smart. I think I was about ten when my parents bought chickens. The old shed out back that wasn't being used became the lucky housing unit for our new found friends. It was a grand chicken house, much bigger than our six chickens ever needed. It had a huge yard and comfy nests. It was a place fit for a king, well, maybe a rooster and his harem. I'm not sure where we acquired our motley crew of chickens, but they were an interesting bunch. We had a white rooster and his sister, Snow White. Three black and white hens that had put on some weight and one little tame hen, Gert, that laid green eggs (yup, green eggs and ham, baby!).  It was often my job to gather the eggs from the hen house. Those of you who have raised chickens know the drill. Put on the coat. Slip on the muck boots and head out. It definitely wasn't my favorite job. I was always afraid of getting pecked, but it was my responsibility, therefore, who was I to argue.

I think we had those chickens for about two years. Then one morning, I walked in the hen house and there laid Snow White, dead. I'm not sure how she passed on, but it was a sad day. The weirdest thing about it was how much her death affected her rooster brother. He became sorely depressed and didn't make it much more than another month. Even chickens have feelings!

We were down to four chickens.

I guess those three heavy ladies didn't get enough to eat or something because they started eating their own eggs. We tried to keep them from such habits, but it was no use. We were about to head out on family vacation for a while and something had to be done. I had been gone all day at a friend's house. When I returned, I was alerted to the unfortunate demise of the ladies. I was ticked! Not that I really liked them all that much. It was the principle of that matter. My mom cleaned them up and canned them. We took the canned ladies on our vacation. The whole time I refused to eat them. Not that they tasted bad. I just couldn't bear the thought.

The last little chicken went to a fine home before we left for vacation. It turned out that she was just too nice. She wasn't ready for the dangers of the world and became lunch to some dog. I think I even shed some tears over Gert.

Well, we didn't get any more chickens when we came home from our vacation. The chicken days were over. The shed was cleaned out and became a house for my dad's random stuff. It still smelled like chickens for a while, a wonderful reminder of the whites, the three ladies, and Gert. Little did I know that there was still hope for that shed and pen. It would become home to another sort of responsibility, but that's a whole different story for another day.

just to make it clear

After reading my posting, I realized that some might think I was railing against my ex-boyfriend. I was not. In fact, I think that he is quite a wonderful man. I love him and respect him. That's that.

Where to start......

Sometimes it is very difficult to write about something when you just don't know where to start. At this very moment a myriad of thoughts rumble and tumble through my mind. Shall I just reach in and snatch one? Perhaps, before I delve into the unknown of my thoughts, I should tell my readers a little bit about myself.

I was born the youngest of three. My two older siblings are a brother, seven years my elder, and a sister, nine years. Because there was such an age gap, I spent many of my growing up years playing by myself. I had friends and spent much time with them too, but in the long winter months of darkness (I grew up on the Kenai Peninsula, AK), I would entertain myself with the adventures of my own creativity.

My parents were good parents. They believed in God and taught us children the same. They taught me what it meant to serve other people and to persevere when things got tough. They taught me that there is more to life than having a lot of stuff. We weren't well off, but a whole lot richer than most of the world. Because of all these lessons in childhood and my deep spiritual upbringing, I will probably be talking some about my relationship with God since it is central to my life. If this offends anyone, please let me know. I do not intend to be offensive. I intend to be real and raw.

I entitled my blog "manifestations" because it seems to me that as I live life, I am coming to see it in a different light. Of course there are new things that I am learning, but more than that I think I am just seeing deeper into what I already know.  Or maybe I am letting go of my bias and seeing things more raw. I might also add an adventure here or there from my childhood. They are what has shaped me into me.

So here I am....left with where to start once again. Perhaps I will just tell you about the random thought that just hit me this morning (I think this blog might become confessional). I was sitting in Safeway drinking a cup of coffee and writing in my journal (a common pass-time). I was pondering my recent break up with my boyfriend and the pains of such ordeals and it struck me! I had wasted much of my time and energy on pervious relationships. I had strove for companionship with people that wouldn't have made good companions, for love that was not love at all. It was something, but it certainly wasn't love. And now, after having lost what I have longed for I realize that in the past, I was very foolish. Why waste one's resources on a relationship that one doesn't plan on keeping? Why not wait, pursue your dreams, have friends, but don't give your heart away to someone that doesn't deserve it. Or don't take someone's heart if you don't plan on preserving it. I don't want to rant and rave. I just want to give a word of wisdom to those the might read this. If you're going to get into a relationship with someone, make it real. Love them for all your worth. Love them like you want to be loved and without regret. If you can't love them like that, then don't bother getting into a relationship. Put your time into something else. Okay, I'm done.