No, I’m not pregnant!! No way! I’m retired from that profession.
But thanks to my best friend, I can still snuggle babies. She allows me to live vicariously through the hard work of her family on their property.
I’M SO LUCKY!
It’s a gift. None of the work, and all the love – if it weren’t for the fact that she finds so much joy in babies herself, she might hate me for this. Sometimes I’m the asshole that comes over just after the fences are finished, to slather adoration on the new members of my extended family.
Other times I do help, though purely out of nostalgia.
Last week I went to visit Ashley, have a bite to eat, and introduce myself to new babies and some yet to arrive. Her Jersey cow, Daisy, is getting ready to calve. She’s starting to bag up and her tummy is swollen with its cargo. She’s the sweetest. We made our way into the pasture, and she remained close to the fence, waiting for us.
When Ashley came to a stop in front of her, she brought her head down and nuzzled Ashley’s arm to get some scratches. Her long eyelashes framed her kind eyes. She allowed us to reach underneath her belly and nudge her enough to feel the recoil of her calf under our hands. My hand moved with the big bumps and rolls under her hide. I was giddy.
“I remember you pushing on my tummy so you could feel my baby move, too,” I recalled with a bit of a wince. “You’d push and press and about make me pee my pants, saying “Come on Baby, wake up” until he finally gave you a foot in acknowledgement.”
“I know,” she answered with much enthusiasm. “I want to feel all the babies move, and I’ll torture you until I get to.”
I can't wait to meet Daisy's Jersey/Highlander baby soon - sweet and shaggy.
Spring Babies! They make me swoon!
Now if we could just convince the weather to shape up…
