Our New Year

Mama and I were busy helping Krystal and the kids Friday, New Year’s Eve. It turned into a convoluted mess since the reason for her being at the house is because she is trying to get back to Florida and leave Trace here – for good. Not something Mama and I are going to participate in, but for the sake of the kids we housed them overnight. Supposedly she was too frightened to go home. Saturday, I took her to the house they are renting so she could be “protected” while she got a few things. Oddly enough, all she was focused on getting was electronic games and devices to make sure Trace did not limit her access to those items. I tried several times to head home but sue refused to be alone at the house with Trace so I left her at the house and brought Trace home with us. A more workable situation with the room we have to offer. I need to get back to the farm to complete the chore of preparing the water lines for the coming freeze and I had already been at the house with the both of them for two hours with little results to speak of and dreaded taking Krystal back to our farm for Mama to have to deal with. That is why Trace agreed to come home with us.

Mama took the kids that had remained at the farm to her later that evening since only Nathan was up when we had left for the house much earlier, me following her in her car. While Trace had been at work Friday, Krystal had stripped their bank account, run up the credit cards and left Trace without any way to pay rent this month. Last night, she asked if Mama would take the kids so she could concentrate on packing. Having a sick child and a toddler was not something she felt prepared to deal with as she packed – as if they were not her own children. I declined on Mama’s behalf. We’ll see how this plays out, but I do not want to participate in an activity I feel to be clearly wrong. God is still able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or imagine. He can bring a good outcome from this situation as well but both parties need to be ready to seek that solution and for the moment, both are totally intractable.

While New Years Day started out warmly, about 1 pm the wind sifted. It began to blow out of the North. It was a cold, strong wind. I had to abandon the waterline I was working on at the barn and get to the house to redress for the chill. Within several hours the temperature had fallen from 68° to 30°. Over night we hit a low of 16°. That was the reason for the urgency on prepping the waterlines around the farm. Our overnight temperatures are going to stay at or well-below freezing for many nights. Winter has come to our little Chico farm. It was not unexpected, but the delay was pleasant and gave me a few extra weeks to get ready.

Last night I got hit with some type of stomach bug. At least that is what I assume I am dealing with. When Krystal told Mama yesterday that Leo was sick with a stomach bug, we thought we had escaped the ailment. Not so. I made I through both services yesterday – and they were great services – but what I was feeling was inescapable. I am not horrible, but most will understand that the discomfort is sometimes difficult to deal with. I am managing. I needed to fast anyway, so a couple days without eating will only do me good. Fasting is my preferred way to start off the New Year. Generally speaking, the fast is a choice rather than a necessity.

Tomorrow, if I feel up to it, will be my first class of this year. Many more will follow. It has been a pleasant break for the past couple weeks to have only a single sporadic class on the weekly docket, but now we begin anew.

Please understand my briefness with this post.