As I prepared to make a trip to Nashville to see my sons Alex and Adam this week I felt like I was leaving a fourth child, the farm. Rick, my husband, will be taking care of things while I am gone for 5 days. Rick helps out and does some of the daily feeding on the farm already but as he works full time plus lots of OT, it is normal for him to go long stretches without interacting with the animals and frequently I have made feeding changes he is unaware of, so getting him up to speed and leaving him with all of it was a bit stressful for both of us.
I am an admitted control freak. Many years ago I came to understand that just because two people don't do something exactly the same, neither is doing it wrong. This is a very powerful concept for a control freak. As I left the farm today I had to let go and know in my heart that it will still be there when I come home.
How do you handle it when you take time away from your farms, families etc?
Ha. I can relate to this one. When I first arrange for someone to farm sit, I'm always optimistic - of course they can handle it. Then when it gets closer to time, I realize how quirky my system for feeding or moving or whatever is, and I get all worried. I always end up writing out these long pages of single spaced typed instructions - they make me feel better, and the house sitter probably ignores them when I'm not around. I firmly resist the urge to phone and check while we're away, but I do leave phone numbers for resource people like my brother if the house sitter has a real crisis. So far I've always come back to all the animals where they should be, present and accounted for. But it is hard to let go.
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