Maggie and Aaron relocated, good class, feeling poorly

Maggie, Aaron and the kids made it safely to their new location; Sioux St.Marie, Michigan. They were unloading the vehicles yesterday afternoon when Maggie called to give us a virtual tour of their new home. Their belongings that were packed in Wilmington, will arrive this afternoon. They have a beautiful townhouse style duplex. Maggie said the town where they will live at this duty assignment is a very small town, but Aaron can walk to work from home. That will be a blessing, especially in the winter. The only thing Maggie had to say about the town was that it has a Hobby Lobby. They are very nearly on the US border with Canada. It is only a mile to the customs office to enter Canada - which is closed now due to the COVID-19 nonsense. Maybe when Mama and I visit we will go exploring in Canada. Hopefully, Maggie and Aaron will get over that way while they are exploring the area. Maggie said it was 65° yesterday afternoon. It was 49° this morning. I would love that right now, but we will be there soon enough. This will be a land-based duty station for Aaron. That will give Aaron more time at home throughout the assignment plus it will give him a needed duty station that will add to his credentials for promotion. A win-win. They are already looking at the possibility of extending their stay. We will see if that enthusiasm continues, but it is great to see the initial excitement.

I had a very good class yesterday. There were only five people in the class. Two of whom I knew from previous teaching assignments. Two were EWN employees. It was like connecting with old friends. One of the attendees is an expert in the area the class dealt with. So it was good to have his insights added through the class. Knowing him personally, I asked if he would be willing to give me some specific feedback concerning the content of the class. Unbeknownst to me, he had been taking notes through the class and he sent me those notes as soon as the class was concluded. I have already incorporated those into the class notes. Missouri, Texas, South Dakota and Maine were represented in the class yesterday. It will be interesting to see how many states are represented in the classes tomorrow and Thursday; both of which will be larger classes.  

Mama and I have been playing chicken shuffle every night. Since she has allowed all the chickens out of their respective coops during the day they have integrated to the point some of them do not get back to the right roost at night – at least according to Mama. Almost every night, we have to place chickens into the correct coop to keep the groups somewhat separated per Mama’s standards. We have almost won the game. Most of the younger chickens have gotten into the habit of roosting where Mama wants them, but we still have one or two that do not like their assigned roost and have to be carried to that roost each night. Last night we had four younger hens that had to be taken off the roost outside of the coop and put onto the roosts inside the coop. Mama had turned on the ceiling fan on inside that side of the coop and the younger hens were too frightened of the fan to enter the coop that night. Any movement overhead causes them concern. It is a natural reaction, but they will get used to it soon enough. When I went out to close up the chickens and found the hens outside of the coop, I had to call for help to ensure I was placing the chickens on the right roost. All our younger chickens have colored leg bands on them so that we can quickly tell them apart. That has proved very helpful for me. Mama can tell them apart by breed or color. Not me. It provides an interesting end to the day almost every evening. Life on the farm.

I have been feeling truly awful the past few days. Lacking the energy to do much at all. That troubles me but there is little I can do about it until we do the diagnostic procedure next Friday except endure. If that procedure does not expose the health issue is have been suffering through for the past few months – and especially the last couple weeks – I am not sure what recourse I will have. At least I will know what to ignore so my focus can be properly placed. Fortunately, I have only one class next week. It is an in-person class which is a little more taxing, but I should be fine.

Time will tell.