Rewards, Tropheys and Friends

May 15, 2009 by Debbie.

The proverb that all good  things come to those who wait (Biblical??? Maybe not, but still a good one!) has come true and I have proof - here it is - (drum roll here, please)

My husband did this for me. No it’s no huge surprise he fixed breakfast for us; no extremely huge surprise he picked flowers for me. The surprise is he served it all OUTSIDE! I’ve wanted to eat outside for many years but John just has never ‘got it’ when it came to picnicking. That he did this for me and actually enjoyed it himself is the huge surprise! Enjoyed it so much we have eaten outside TWICE now.

Another surprise/reward was Teacher appreciation week. Our local elementary school teachers and staff ARE the best. I am the proof of that. That someone like me who had not taken any teaching courses in college as my focus was accounting can come in and sub-teach is definite proof. It’s more work for the teachers to plan a day off than for them to come in themselves. They have a detailed schedule of the day prepared and a stack of work with the lesson plans waiting. The other teachers in the grade I’m subbing in always check if I need anything or have any questions. They make it not only easy to sub, but pleasant as well. So I could understand why the parents got together and fixed a complete meal for all the teachers at the school. My reward was I was included.

This week, after a day of subbing I thought I’d take a few minutes off before starting supper and was just getting ready to sit on the porch swing when I glanced over and just a few feet away was a 5 1/2 foot rat snake. He must have had a full stomach cause he had only traveled a foot or two by the time I got back to him with the hoe and shovel. We have had so much rain that the ground was too soft to cut his head off with the (very dull) shovel but I was able to stun him enough to pick him up (with the shovel) and put him on a board to smash his head. Course I then had to drag him over to the carport, stretch him out and measure him - how else would I know he was 5 1/2 foot long? And of course, I had to save my trophy for John to see. And did you know if you poke a dead snake it will recoil out of reflexes? Kind of like a chicken with it’s head cut off flopping around.

Tonight my FaithFull Friend Gina came over - what a wonderful, wonderful treat! We were doing a Bible study. You know the scripture that says confess your faults to each other that you may be healed? Well, I poured out all my faults and woes to her and I sure felt healed by the time she left. Time flies when Gina’s here. It doesn’t matter how long she’s here I never get done talking and listening; sharing life with Gina is a rare treat but time came for her to go home. As we walked out by the bushy rosemary we teased each other about running into another snake.

I went out to the barn to check on the goats. Despite teasing about possibly finding another snake I really did not expect to see the one curled up around the top of the goats’ water bucket. It really was not what I wanted to find or deal with right then or ever. But there he was and Betsy was curious enough to stick her nose close to his. That did it - snakes should know better than bother my goats and expect to live. So I grabbed another dull shovel and bashed him against the wall. Unfortunately the shovel was so dull it wouldn’t cut through his scales. So I pressed the shovel and held him in place, hoping he’d twist his head up close enough to the shovel edge I could catch it under an edge of the shovel blade. Took awhile but thanks to the bashing that slowed him down I was able to pick him up and move him to a couple of cement blocks and smash his head one last time. I love thinking of the scripture about smashing the serpent’s head while doing this.  I put this one in a bucket and covered it with a lid, put a block on the lid (just in case, ya know) so I could show John my latest trophy. If I’d had Gina’s cell phone number I think I would have called to tell her it’s now no teasing matter and I’m tired of snakes. That was snake #5 in the past two weeks. I’m going to start research St. Patrick to see how he expelled all the snakes from Ireland.

During our visit Gina had asked what we were going to do tomorrow if it rained again ………… now I know, rain or shine, we are going to sharpen all the hoes and shovels.

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