Life as we know it is busy, at best. Between ball games, school activities, camps, livestock shows, work, county fairs, work and … work, it’s difficult to find time to enjoy being a family.

I remember that when all my kids were seven years old and younger, all I could think about was when they were older, how much more time I would have to go and do things. Little did I know it would only get busier as they got older.
While I hear people say, “Enjoy the moment,” it seems nearly impossible, as I feel like a firefighter running around putting out fires in every area of my life. When those flames pop up and you feel like just letting everything go up in smoke, somewhere you muster up the gumption to don your turnout gear and head out to douse another fire.

And sometimes that’s when the blessing is revealed.

A big bowl of popcorn was being enjoyed as we watched baseball on this warm summer evening and just like clockwork, the neighbor roared by in his Dodge truck at 10:05 p.m. on his way to work. Seconds later the phone rang; it was the neighbor driving by letting us know it looked like the cows were in the wheat field.

Springing into action, we all put our barn shoes on and headed out the door. Headlights were beaming from the north, so we stopped to see if it was our son Luke getting home after being gone for the week at football camp in Chicago.
It was. The cows could wait; this mom had to hug her baby! And hug him I did, as we stood in the yard and visited with my brother and nephew who were dropping him off.

Cows? What cows? We stood and visited for 20 minutes without a care in the world about any cows on any wheat field.

They left and we headed to the south pasture to see about the renegade wheat field wanderers. Jake and I were chattering on the walkie-talkies while we walked down the road, as a big, orange, full moon showed its face to us. It was a beautiful evening for chasing cows and I didn’t regret this outing one bit.
By the time Sarah and I arrived on the scene, Big Daddy and Jake had the cows in and the fence fixed. So, we turned around and meandered back up the road, enjoying the fireflies dancing around and listening to the night sounds. As we walked hand in hand, we joked and laughed all the way to the house.
Sometimes, the best blessings come to us disguised behind a raging fire.

 The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.