The last couple of weeks have been full of one thing after another. When it rains, it pours, I guess.
Even though the bad luck seemed to go on forever, we were able to 'find the bright side' in those situations, which has made things much easier...
1) The bad: First, our main display freezer in the farm store went down. It happened to be the day we got meat back from the butcher, so we had A LOT of meat to put away and one less freezer to hold it. We found ourselves scrambling to find a spot for it all. The freezer technician came to take a look at the freezer and said that the compressor was bad. Since the compressor costs almost as much as a new freezer, and because the freezer was already fairly old, we decided we would have to get a new one.
The good: Although we weren't expecting to have to buy a new freezer for a while, it was something we were planning on doing in the near future. I guess we got it checked off of the list a little early! We also found an awesome company located in Minneapolis who was super helpful in helping us choose a freezer that would fit in our small space. They also deliver for free, which was awesome because although we are pretty comfortable with hauling trailers here in the country, driving around in the cities with a big trailer is definitely out of our comfort zone! The guys there were awesome and we plan to give them more business when we need additional equipment in a couple years.
2) The bad: My printer (that I use ALL the time), just up and quit working one day. Convenient, I know. I was really starting to worry about what else would break down that week, just crossing my fingers that nothing else would break or quit working. We have learned to count on everything needing repairing or replacing at some point. It's a WHEN, not a IF type of deal. Budgeting for such things has been a lifesaver.
The good: I had to get creative about things that I usually use the printer for. For example, (as some of you know) I usually give a 'postcard' to everyone who orders for our monthly delivery. It's just a way for me to say 'thank you, and I appreciate you.' Since I didn't have a printer for our March delivery, I decided to write little hand-written notes instead. I actually enjoyed it SO MUCH, that I decided to continue to write notes instead of printing a more generic note each month. It gave me a chance to write more personal notes and connect with everyone more. Plus, I get to break out my colorful flair pens, so what's not to like about that ;)
3) The bad: Just the other night (as I'm in the shower, mind you), Carl calls and says that the cattle are out and to get to the pasture right away. If you have experience with livestock, then you know that this is such a DREADED phone call. Luckily it rarely happens, but every farmer knows that it's inevitable and no matter how strong your fences are, it's BOUND to happen. So, I halfway rinse the shampoo out of my hair, throw my dirty clothes back on, and fly out the door just hoping that Carl has everything under control until I get there.
The good: This is my favorite part about farming and living in the country: everybody is willing to lend a hand and help one-another at a moments notice. See, I made pretty good time getting to the pasture to corral the cattle back into the pasture. I'm talking like a FEW minutes! As I crest the hill to the pasture, I notice that there are already 4 people there ready to help. Seriously, within minutes we already had a crew to help head the steers back to their home. Family, neighbors and friends dropped everything to help. It's such a good feeling to know that other's have your back and that you have theirs. It was a perfect reminder that I needed <3 We are so thankful to know such awesome people.
So, as you can see, bad things do happen (more often than we'd like to admit), but there's usually a bright side to things. It can be hard to notice in the moment, but when looking back, it's obvious that we have a lot to be thankful for. We've learned to find the good in bad, because without it, life can get to be a lot to deal with. Whether it's as simple as having a laugh about getting run over by a pig and landing in the mud (hmmm, wonder where I came up with that?), learning something new through hardship, or realizing that other's have your back when you are going through hard times, it can be helpful to find the silver lining even in our negative experiences.
Life will always give us hardships, it's 50/50 after-all. But how we respond to those hardships will make all the difference. What circumstances can you look back on and see the silver lining?
Want to share? I'd LOVE to hear about your own experiences about looking on the bright side of things.
Feel free to leave a comment right here or even send me a text or email. I love getting to connect and chat with others. Reach out at 715-214-5220 or springcreekmeats@springcreekmeats.com
Until then, remember to keep looking for the bright side of things :)
Hannah
Comments