Short days, dinner, medical forms, revival

Yesterday was one of those days that hurried by. When I discovered I did not have my laptop with me I had to find one to borrow and one borrowed is never set up the same way as the one normally used. So I had to reconfigure the borrowed laptop to meet my short term needs without making it difficult for someone else to borrow it in the future. That took some time – between meetings.


Since I was out of the office part of the day on Thursday and all of the day Friday, I had some catch up items to take care of; at least those I could address without the programs I have access to on my laptop. That took more time – between more meetings. All in all it was a very fast day; marginally productive. Hopefully my laptop will get here today.

I did get home in time to help feed the calves before eating a little dinner. Dinners are not the same while we are living with Grandma and Grandpa. There is not the same care or interest or time together I am used to when Mama takes care of such things and Grandma has taken to watching back to back episodes of television shows available on Netflix – which we have set up on the TV we have in the mobile home. Within the last week she has watched 78 episodes of Burn Notice. It has not been good dinnertime fare, but it is a small matter.

We had one calf that was a little piqued on Sunday but Grandpa went out and got some medicine to doctor it with and by that night the calf was doing much better. The next morning he was at full strength. I wish I could recover that quickly. Maybe I need to go on a milk replacer diet. All four of the calves are eating well and growing fast. If we are able to get several more we will really see the growth by comparison. So far we have the four and it is enough.

Grandpa spent the better part of the day working on the shop; setting forms for the next pour and digging the waterline. We may have the time and materials to dig the waterline and the septic line this weekend. That would get us a long way toward getting the bathroom ready both in the shop and the apartment. I am still weighing the pros and cons of doing the slab versus doing the roof. I cannot do both at the same time but I will have to make a decision soon.

We have Victoria scheduled to visit a specialist on Thursday. The office specializes in allergy related illnesses. She has been suffering long enough. It is time for us to get the cause nailed down so we can equip her to be well in the future. I know she is scared the allergies will keep her from enjoying the farm so she has not wanted to be diagnosed. But her constant cough is keeping her from enjoying anything, so it is time to get some control and diagnosis is the first step to healing.

It was interesting to see Victoria struggle with answering the questionnaire I picked up at the doctor’s office. She and Mama have the hardest time with such documents. I suppose to them it is a combination of a final exam and an interrogation forum. They struggle to answer questions that are designed to guide the doctor in asking deeper questions when the visit is under way. It is not an appraisal of your honesty or a test of your medical knowledge. It is just a tool, but it is still difficult for the two of them.

Mama and I enjoyed revival services last night. The preacher used the story of the prodigal son as a starting point but preached a very different message dealing with how quickly we forget and how that forgetfulness keeps us from serving God. We forget what it cost God to redeem us. We forget that our loved ones will spend eternity in hell if they die without Christ. We forget how real that pain and torment are and that there is no mercy, no comfort, no end.

It is a sad reminder of how very little I am doing for the Lord