Sometimes by bib overall wearing buddy just makes me shake my head in wonderment. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes well, not so much. I can honestly say, my husband is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. His intelligence is one of the things that I find most attractive about him. He is able to look at the world and break everything down into numbers. He is very logical and often has the temperance to wait to respond in a logical manner, not fraught with emotion or impulse. Things are always very black and white with him, I admire that.
You see, of the pair, I am the one who is impulsive, fraught with emotional responses, often suffering illogical logic, and my world is more gray than black and white. Really, I’m not sure how we work so well together. A few years into our marriage, we moved from my little cottage by the library to a massive Victorian home with 22 rooms, 12-foot ceilings, original plaster molding, 4 fireplaces and loads of charm. I adore that house…but I digress. Once we had done some major restoration and settled in, I told The Bibbed Wonder I thought we should get a dog. He gave me a quizzical look and asked why? He pointed out we were hardly ever home, I was still teaching and coaching, he was often out of town for a week at a time. My response was, “We have four fireplaces…duh.” It made perfect sense to me. We needed a dog because we needed a dog to sleep in front of our fireplaces. In my mind it was the finishing touch to a perfect domestic scene. The Bibbed Wonder wrinkled his brow, asked me to explain, continued to wrinkle his brow, and told me I was cute. Also, he informed me there wouldn’t be a dog anytime soon but it was a nice idea. That is just one example of my illogical logic. By the way, he surprised me with a red pit bull rescue a few weeks later…you see, it did make perfect sense.
However, there are times when I am the logical one of the pair. This is not often the case but there are times when even a blind squirrel gets the nut. This week, I am that proverbial blind squirrel. I have sworn off all things soap for the week. I am spending the week catching up on all the domestic tasks I have allowed to slip to the wayside during market season. The Bibbed Wonder is in charge this week. Yesterday, he had himself worked into a tizzy. As always with farm life, the unexpected arises and we never get done everything we think needs to be done. He lost two days of productivity in the studio because of such unexpected arisings. Yesterday, he went into panic mode. I reserve panic mode for myself…mostly. However, there are the rare occasions The Bibbed Wonder decides to try out these roles for himself. It is never pretty when he is in panic mode. Not only did he decide to take it upon himself to clean the studio…insert annoyance and eye rolling. He also decided he would host a farm pick up on Saturday. When asked what I thought, I stubbornly declared I would be cleaning and not of any help. He needs to think this through and plan. Has he given any thought to the release of the Christmas products? Has he checked the weather? Does he think next weekend would be a better time? I was answered with the stink eye, asked to read the post he had already created, and not given any real answers to my logically logical questions. My reaction was okay Mr. Big Balls, go ahead. The Bibbed Wonder will always rise to a challenge. So, he arose and panic ensued.
For once, I was the one talking him down. He was in a twist because he had unloaded the soap and lotion from the market. He was lamenting on his lack of thought and the extra work he had created. He was prancing…he prances when he is anxious…really, it’s kind of cute. He makes his fingers go in a nervously repetitive motion and kind of does an I have to pee dance. I responded with the logic that he will be merely feet from the studio, it is not a big deal, and to focus on the social media posts, the set up, and let the cleaning go until Monday when I will return to my soap duties and he can’t throw anything away that I don’t want thrown away. He then began lamenting about all that needs done and he won’t have time to complete. I then pointed out that barn tours are off the table for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we have a sow in heat and that is just ugly. Our boar, Boris, is now with the goats because it is not time for any porcine romance. Boris is gentle but there is a sow in heat and love makes all creatures act in crazy ways. Also, the barn is indoors. With Covid numbers rising, people coming from various places, and the verdict still being out on the spread to animals and the effects, I choose to err on the side of caution. We rely very heavily on our girls for several important purposes. Their safety and well-being are of the utmost importance. We cannot afford to have a barn full of sick ladies for many reasons, but mostly I love my girls and want to keep them safe. It is best for all to remain outdoors. Check mate for logical Tina. The Bean will be helping her dad with the farm pick up and let us be honest, she merely needs us for heavy lifting. My girl could take over and run this with her eyes closed aside from the fact that she isn’t legal to drive and can only lift her own body weight. I understand completely that my days of usefulness are limited…I’m okay with that. Again, check mate for logical Tina. Lastly, we are real, we are not picture perfect. The grass may not be perfectly manicured, the mums may not be in place, the feed room may need to be swept, and the garden still needs to be put to bed. It is not about perfection, it is about hospitality, kindness, quality products, and customer care. We are real, no where near being perfect. Again, check mate for logical Tina. This is usually my area of panic expertise but all will be well.
With the panic now down to controllable levels, we can all get back to doing what needs done. The Bibbed Wonder is now concentrating on what really matters and has ceased prancing. I am taking care of all things domestic and can’t wait to get back to the studio. The Bean is as cool as a cucumber and planning the layout of the soap since she is in charge…just the way she likes it. All is right with the world and we are looking forward to welcoming our soap family to the farm on Saturday from 10-2. I talk a big talk, but I will happily blow off cleaning and organizing to visit with all who appreciate good soap and wonderful goats. Unless of course, upper management demands I go back to the house. She is small but she is fierce.
As always dear reader, stay safe, stay smart, we hope to see you at the farm on Saturday, and of course keep washing your hands.