Goat Therapy

I haven’t written a blog post since we were told to hunker down. It is hard for me to put words to what I truly don’t understand. These days of hunkering down are getting long. I try to find meaning in my days with projects and appreciating the family time, however, some days I end up just feeling disconnected. I am on an emotional rollercoaster of fear, gratitude and uncertainty. The “thief of comparison” complicates it all as well, knowing that I do have it better than many, doesn’t allow me much space to grieve for what we have lost.

I have read the posts and articles about this time being an opportunity, “the great pause”. An opportunity to slow down, to be with family, to choose more carefully how we live. And yes I am in fact a huge fan of opportunities to pause but I am equally a fan of personal, face to face, genuine connections, that include heartfelt embraces, eye contact. I understand the forced distance is in the name of the collective good, but is it? Is our physical health more important than our psychological, and or our financial health? As the truth about this virus becomes more and more elusive; I can’t help but question what is it all for? Why exactly have we shut down our way of life and more significantly what exactly will give comfort for us to re-open? Will we now always live in fear of illness? I don’t have the answers so I go to my back yard for goat therapy.

Days before we were told to hunker down Austin tracked down some Nigerian Dwarf baby goats on Craig’s List. They have become our therapy goats providing much comfort and entertainment. We are really happy with their addition to our funny farm. A dog house we had has made a sweet home for them - our own version of Door Country’s Al Johnson’s.

Maybe someday we will find a Billy goat. The idea of fresh goat milk and goat cheese is kind of dreamy. But we have been advised to not go into it uninformed. It is a lot of work.

Right now we are just grateful for their happy energy, their pure joy over a bit of hay.

Fortunately joy is contagious as well.