Women In Ag

[Kay/NC]

Mike jokes now that he has to stop and think when he opens his eyes in the morning, to remember which state he fell asleep in last night. I know he was confused yesterday, because he asked me to hand him a Kleenex, which is on my bedside table in VA, his in NC. He's headed out on his trusty little Kubota, to mend fence this morning. Maybe day for rain in both spots, so he's trying to make time outdoors while he can. We'll be heading back this afternoon, in time for me to take a TKD class on the way south, while he runs a few errands. It is hard to explain how we are seeking a pattern for the time we spend here v. there now. There are days I keep Winn in the morning, and one where I also have him late, for daughter to teach riding. His other Gma wanted time with him, too, so she got a couple of mornings and the other afternoon lesson time to cover. Works out great.... Mike has weekends to cover the hog chores...usually not but a couple of hours each day, if nothing needs repairs. He can do them early in the morning or late at night...he just has to put his eyes on the pigs once a day. Daughter will sometimes offer to cover one of those passes, so he can be really " off". There are the dogs to deal with, but their kennel is huge, has warm houses and automatic food and water dispensers, so they are okay...just miss their free- range running time if they stay over in the kennel while we stay longer. I am asking for two chances to train in TKD each week, which is the minimum I need to get ready for my next rank test in 2013. I can do the conditioning on my own...most high ranks do that anyway. Getting my gym in shape on Sunday was at least partly a move in that direction. My bookwork takes maybe an hour a month, split into two sessions. No biggie. I go to the bank once a week, and they have branches in both places. I have a few hours of annual transfers of permit documentation to do this coming month, with Mike, and then soil samples to send off after New Year's. Other than that, I have one regular monthly meeting to chair, and some seasonal/ quarterly ones. No more than we do, we are analyzing when we can leave there to be here. We can see three open time windows each week, and need to take advantage of at least two of them. We use the extended weather forecasts for both places, to decided where we can best utilize a warm day, or a rainy one. Our workload here is actually much heavier right now. We are working on establishing new rhythm for our lives. I know some pod you have done this at different times, for different reasons. How did/ do you factor in your responsibilities v.your recreation? We have been driven by work for forty years together...this seems almost sinfully leisurely. We are hitting a new rhythm here...and I like the beat