Short trip, cleanup, the doctor

I traveled with my office mates to Southlake, TX this morning. We met with those from our company who are there giving short presentations to a large gas operator. It was a good time to talk with our new manager. Southlake is a little over an hour away. As it turns out, he is the piano player for First Baptist Church here in Decatur. He has an education administration background and is an expert in the area of instructional design. It will be interesting to see how well and for how long he fits into the management of our company. I am starting to see a shift in direction of our company, but I do not see a focus on building the support structure to make their ambitions bear fruit. Perhaps it is possible. Time will tell. I am not convinced the goals they have set are actually the right goals for our company as it is currently structured, but I could be wrong. Their hearts are in the effort but I am not sure who is guiding the scope and vision and it may be time to solicit some outside guidance for purely business alignment purposes. Again, I could be wrong.

All in all, it was a profitable trip this morning. He got to know us a little better and we got to see the state-of-the-art training facility at the operators headquarters here in North Texas. Plus, I got to see how others at the company are being allowed to present speeches in different venues within the industry. If things work out for Mama and me to go into our business full-time, there is a great support structure in place to carry on my current responsibilities in training. I am relieved about that. Especially since I have worked in the background to make that happen. Whether or not I get to leave in the next few months or have to wait until early next year, I can feel like I have made a difference.

Mama took our little buckling out of the paddock this morning and bathed him – at least his backside. He still had things caked to his flanks from his birth. The goat barn is not clean. There are four full grown goats that live in there – along with whatever other critters that travel through it when we are not looking. It is also quite dusty. Because of that, he was pretty caked up with gunk after the birth and it had stayed on him for long enough according to Mama. He is finally cleaned up. She is happier now. I am not sure if he is. Now we have the huge task of clipping the hooves of the four grown goats. It has been far too long since we took time to trim their hooves. It is not an easy task when both Mama and I are struggling with hurting backs and stiff knees. But I am not sure who to ask to help us with the chore. I get the sense that once we have done it successfully, we will not be nearly as hesitant to do so again. It is getting started the first time that is hard.

Mama and I are meeting at the doctor’s office this afternoon. I do not know what to expect other than the fact that we will get home pretty late in the evening. The appointment will take over an hour if things are consistent with past visits. We will be late getting to the farm because Mama wants to go to Walmart after we are through at the doctor’s office. I will be trying to listen closely while allowing Mama to have her full say.

Sometimes we husbands have to walk a thin line to maintain peace in the home.