Really Hot and Really Grateful

The other day was hot and I don't mean Paris Hilton hot either. I mean hot like burn the skin on your face when you put on your sunglasses hot. Or burn you leg on your car seat hot. Or burn you hand touching the car door handle hot.

I know it was hot because I fed the horses their oats and while they were busy eating I had to climb in the grain bin and fill the cans we have outside the corral. It was hot outside in the sun but it was a lot hotter inside the bin. The air was heavy outside and there wasn't enough wind to make a leaf move. It was hard to breathe outside. Inside the bin it was absolutely stifling and the air was even heavier especially when it was full of oat dust.

Sweat was pouring off my face and soaking through my shirt. I was attracting oat dust like a magnet draws those iron filings. Oat dust is itchy.

I put my two 5-gallon buckets inside the bin along with a 25 gallon trash can. Then I haul my butt over the panel in the door and I think to myself that this would have been a lot easier when I was 30. I fill my buckets and about 2/3 of my trash can. Dadgum trash can was almost too heavy for me lift over the panel. Pitiful.

But I found some extra strength to lift it over and set it down on the ground because I really wanted out of that bin. Getting out is harder than getting in though. It made me think I should be doing more stretching exercises and need to get more serious about losing another 20 or 30 pounds. Pitiful. One thing about it though is that you don't care if anyone sees you being clumsy looking getting out.

But once outside I still had to carry the trash can and the buckets all the way back to their place. That's no small distance.

So I was thinking about how far it was and how hot and how tired I was and that I was itchy and dirty and just generally miserable. But they weren't going to walk over there themselves and delay was making everything worse. So I decided to haul the trash can first because it is the heaviest and hardest. I grab hold of both handles and heave and start out. I made it about 1/2 way and had to set it down a minute. Usually I can make it all the way to the gate. Finally I did haul it to the gate and get it opened and set the can outside. Then I headed back for the buckets - breathing even harder, too.

Admittedly I was feeling sorry for myself - having to do all this work and all and by myself and not even my horses and blah blah. I was about half way to the gate with a bucket in each hand when it struck me. It was a thought and it had the power of a lightening bolt.

It was that I should be really happy and really grateful that I am even able to carry those buckets and that heavy can and feed those four horses and do all the other stuff I do now. Because quite a few folks couldn't do it physically and if they could they would have no opportunity because they don't have access to a farm or horses or any oats for that matter.

From then on until I was done I was just absolutely in awe of my good fortune to have both the good health and the opportunity to do what I'm doing.

I swear it seemed like everything cooled off a few degrees.

Pretty cool.