Give me some sugar....Brown Sugar

I married The Dairy Farmer in November of 1996.  I was a young veterinary technician with a twinkle in my eye and not much money in my pocket.  In 1998, I found out we were expecting our very first bundle of joy and after MUCH (and perhaps heated) discussion, I was convinced to quit my job and become a stay at home mom.  I milked that gig for about 10 years.  It's darn near the best job you can have, but the pay is in sloppy wet kisses and sticky fingered hugs.  They make your long days worthwhile, but it ain't pretty on your bank account. 

 Enter 2009....the year the economy tanked and it was brought to my attention that I might have to start looking for a "real job,"  one that actually might require me to shower and dress each morning, one that might actually supply me with a weekly paycheck.  Two punks in private school, a farm trying desperately to stay afloat and a husband who wasn't taking a paycheck was adding up.  In an effort to cut costs, it was decided that we would start raising our calves at the home farm.    Hello....welcome to your new job.  And, as luck would have it, I didn't have to shower or get dressed each morning!  I still haven't seen a paycheck, but The Dairy Farmer assures me that we are saving lots of money. 

The punks and I started in February of 2009 and not long after, our first red and white Holstein calf was born.  The kids named her Brown Sugar and they loved her.  They loved her a whole lot more than the hundreds of black and white calves that came before and after her.   I admit, she was a cutie:

We raise our calves here until they are about 6 months or so and since there are so many of them and so little space on this farm, we send them to another farm for a year or two.   We stop over to check on them now and then (of course, they aren't left unattended, there is someone at that farm who takes good care of them).  We visited one day and the punks were so excited to see good old Brown Sugar run over to the fence to say hello. She was looking good and healthy and ready to start dating.  We began the "interview" process to find her a lovely "virtual" husband. 

Well, guess who's back?  Yup.....Brown Sugar is home and ready to have a little baby of her own.  And, let me tell ya, she's ready....oh, she's ready.    Ready any minute.  Can you tell?

Oh momma, I feel for you.  When I looked like that people told me to drink herbal tea, eat spicy food, take a nice healthy dose of castor oil and go for a ride down a bumpy road.  I'd tell you the same thing, but since people giving me all kinds of facacta labor advice used to irritate the  living  daylights out of me.  I won't say a word.  I'll wish you Godspeed, my sister, and hope when we check on you tonight, you'll have a lovely little red and white baby by your side.