I love spring. Amid the mucky, soupy, flooded fields, I love to hear the rushing of our seasonal creek and watch the small pond behind the barn fill to capacity with dark muddy water. It seemed to take forever for the last snow at the bottom of the huge snow piles to melt away. It has only been in the last few weeks when I have been able to remove the leaves that covered my perennial flowers for insulation from this winters cold. My daffodils have sprung up quickly and are starting to flower among the weeds, willows, rose bushes and puddles. With the recent cold, rainy weather they seem to have cocooned back into their shells and I see a decrease in their “spring”.

I can only watch from the window of my cocoon as I have fractured the fourth section of my sacrum and I am slowly and painfully working on the second week of my six-week recovery. I’ve traditionally suffered from back pain that I blame on my attitude of “watch me!” “I can do it!”. This broken sacrum was no different. In my frustration of not having things done in my time lines…I was carrying a sandbag to increase my pond depth and slipped on a pallet covered with this winters slimy decomposing hay hidden under the top layer of fresh dry hay. I am fortunate that the corner of the pallet I fell on did not have a nail sticking out of it.

Jason’s indifference to my peril and frustration at my stupidity was another tough life lesson. A lesson I can’t seem to hold on to except in the emergency waiting room.  Jason’s stoic attitude was exactly what this loch of clumsy needed and we whipped through the afternoon smoothly proving I just need my “Rock”, some T3’s and a good sleep.

Spring is a busy time on the farm. In starting my digital adventure this year…it has gone to the wayside, toppled over by the prospect of new blood….Mahahaha!! There was a few amazing people who thought maybe this job was for them. After the realization that playing with fun, pretty dogs was not the job, but instead immersing oneself in the things they leave behind, they quickly fell into the abyss of town life. A young farm girl stepped up with a shine that I hadn’t seen in a while. Heidi showed up to her first day on the job in work clothes, rubber boots and a sparkle! She entertains us with witty stories, a classic second voice teasing and the courage to take life in stride, moment to moment. Heidi loves to greet people at the gate with just the right amount of sweetness that has clients instantly at ease. I know that I will lose her to college when she has saved up enough to go, but until then I see smooth sailing for this business, and for my back.

With Diane and Heidi on the job I am able to concentrate on getting better so I can get back to my horse lessons, which this uninvited interruption has devastated me more than my inability to move. Today I will focus on protecting my body like a cocoon against my attitude. While I say this I try not to think of the 1985 movie Cocoon. The idea that swimming in a pond inhabited by aliens will give seniors a new lease on life and a new “I can do it!” attitude rings frighteningly true. I have no intentions to swim in my muddy pond and I must also get rid of the attitude that comes along with it! Besides the fact that no one says cocoon anymore…the correct word is chrysalis. I will continue to use cocoon because I simply cannot spell chrysalis. Who thought of this anyway?? Cocoon, cocoon, cocoon, cocoon! Ha!