Yesterday was a day that all parents of teenage drivers fear. Your child runs into the house scared to death and yells "I just crashed my car!"
My 15 year old son had just left for practice at 5:35 a.m. It's only 18 degrees outside and dark. He didn't even make it a mile down the road and something broke on his car and sent him spinning into the ditch. I wasn't there, so I don't know 100 % what happened, but from what he tells us, the car started to drift toward the ditch and when he tried to bring it back to the center of the road, it over-corrected and spun into the ditch. He wasn't on his phone, because he discovered it was dead when he tried to call us to tell us what happened.
He ran almost a mile back to the house, in the dark, in the cold and probably shaking like a leaf-not from the cold, but from pure fear that it happened. Once he burst through the door, we thought he was mad about something, until my husband took a better look at him. He was cold, shaking and not able to explain what happened. Had he been any closer to our house, his car would have ended up in a three to four foot deep ditch. The outcome could have been terrible.
I am so glad we have taught him that seatbelts should always be worn and to keep the phones put away. He has been an avid seatbelt wearer since he was very little, so that has followed through to his own driving habits.
All day I was in a very somber mood, trying not to think too much about it. It's amazing how one little "wreck" can cause you to look at life and run through possible outcomes. I hope that is the worst wreck he has in his driving future. If it is, then he will be lucky. I've know other kids that weren't that lucky and I'm sure their parents wanted a different outcome too. I found myself thanking God yesterday several times for keeping my son safe and watching over him.
I think it also made my son a little more tolerant of his dad and myself. We never heard gripping or complaining last night. He did what he was asked and actually was pleasant to be around. Not that I wanted something like that to make it happen, but since it did, I think it opened his eyes and made him appreciate what he has.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
New Year, New Ideas!
A new year is upon us and all the new ideas keep rolling in from all sorts of places. I will be the first to admit that I am a Pinterest addict. And due to that addiction, I have lots of projects that I'm just dying to get started on. Unfortunately, time and money seem to keep me from embarking on that journey. I will keep pinning, and one day, when I have more of both of the above resources, I will tackle that ever-growing list.
One of the things that I did get accomplished recently wasn't on one of my boards (at least I don't think it was), is a set of "curtains" for my hen's nesting boxes. I've had a terrible time keeping pine shavings in their nesting boxes for a number of years. They get into the nesting boxes and like to camp out, scratching and fluffing the litter all over. They also have a bad habit of eating the eggs in the nesting boxes if they are left there all day. I am not home all day since I work, so by the time I get home from work, get out to take care of chores, I am usually cursing them for eating the eggs and emptying the contents of the boxes.
I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember whose blog it was), that they used curtains on the boxes. According to the author, the hens like their privacy when laying eggs, but don't like to stay in the dark for all that long. The curtains also discourage the hens from egg-eating. I finally gotthe ambition desperate enough to get out and get it done.
I had several empty feed bags that were sitting around and decided to find a staple gun, a pair of scissors and start cutting. I just guessed on the size that I would need. I had plenty of bags to use, so I just started cutting away. I stapled it to the top of the box and trimmed to about 2 inches above the floor of the nesting box. I wanted them to be able to see into the box a little, but wanted it dark enough to discourage the camping out habit. Once I got the piece stapled at the top, I cut strips about 1 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 of the way up the stapled piece. This makes it easier for the hens to get into and out of the boxes. Once I was done making noise and disrupting their afternoon, I grabbed a hen or two and put them up into the boxes to show them it wasn't anything new or scary. After the first day, I noticed an egg, still in on piece and clean, sitting in a nice clean pile of pine shavings. I was so excited and praised my girls for being such good chickens. A few eggs were still on the floor of the coop, but in one piece. The next day, there were a few more in the nesting boxes, in one piece and sitting on clean shavings. I was ecstatic! Yesterday, I went out and there were five eggs in boxes! I think they are learning quickly!
I know I should have done this years ago, but I am still learning. I'm no chicken pro by any means. I have had chickens for several years, but it's a learning process-what works, what doesn't, revise and try again.
One of the things that I did get accomplished recently wasn't on one of my boards (at least I don't think it was), is a set of "curtains" for my hen's nesting boxes. I've had a terrible time keeping pine shavings in their nesting boxes for a number of years. They get into the nesting boxes and like to camp out, scratching and fluffing the litter all over. They also have a bad habit of eating the eggs in the nesting boxes if they are left there all day. I am not home all day since I work, so by the time I get home from work, get out to take care of chores, I am usually cursing them for eating the eggs and emptying the contents of the boxes.
I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember whose blog it was), that they used curtains on the boxes. According to the author, the hens like their privacy when laying eggs, but don't like to stay in the dark for all that long. The curtains also discourage the hens from egg-eating. I finally got
I had several empty feed bags that were sitting around and decided to find a staple gun, a pair of scissors and start cutting. I just guessed on the size that I would need. I had plenty of bags to use, so I just started cutting away. I stapled it to the top of the box and trimmed to about 2 inches above the floor of the nesting box. I wanted them to be able to see into the box a little, but wanted it dark enough to discourage the camping out habit. Once I got the piece stapled at the top, I cut strips about 1 1/2 inches wide and 3/4 of the way up the stapled piece. This makes it easier for the hens to get into and out of the boxes. Once I was done making noise and disrupting their afternoon, I grabbed a hen or two and put them up into the boxes to show them it wasn't anything new or scary. After the first day, I noticed an egg, still in on piece and clean, sitting in a nice clean pile of pine shavings. I was so excited and praised my girls for being such good chickens. A few eggs were still on the floor of the coop, but in one piece. The next day, there were a few more in the nesting boxes, in one piece and sitting on clean shavings. I was ecstatic! Yesterday, I went out and there were five eggs in boxes! I think they are learning quickly!
I know I should have done this years ago, but I am still learning. I'm no chicken pro by any means. I have had chickens for several years, but it's a learning process-what works, what doesn't, revise and try again.
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