A DREAM COME TRUE

We all have dreams. Some of us dream of running a marathon, building a house, or traveling to some exotic country. Why not dream? After all, it’s our dreams that push us to continue our journey called life on those days we want to give up.

Today, a dream came true for me. It was not all glitz and glam, but I did something that I only dreamt about for virtually my whole life. 

I milked my very own goats!!!!!!

This dream did not come easy or overnight.  It took us three years to sell our house in town and move to a farm. Then, we bought baby goats and had to wait a whole year until they had babies and waited even longer until the babies didn’t require all of the milk from Momma.

Now that my goats are in milk; I had to find someone to teach me how to milk goats. I contacted one of the farms that I bought two of my girls from. They agreed to show me how to milk goats. So this past Monday, I got up bright and early to drive one and a half hours to the farm. I absolutely cannot express my gratitude to them for doing this!

I left their farm ready to take on the world of milking goats. On the drive home, I started planning my strategy. (If you don’t know me, I am a huge planner.) I decided that Wednesday was the day, I would start milking. There was far too much that still needed to be done to prepare everything. I needed to make my udder cleanser for before milking and the udder balm for after, I needed to plan to separate the babies from the mommas at night so they would have milk for me, and needed to clean the common area of the barn because I’m also a clean freak and want sanitary conditions for milking. So Tuesday, I spent getting down and dirty cleaning every cobweb, nook, and crevice. I prepared the area the babies would sleep in and set my alarm for 5 am. I usually get up at 5:30 to start the barn chores so I figured getting up a half hour earlier would be sufficient enough to ensure that I would finish with the barn chores at the same time.

Wednesday morning I woke up bright and early eager to put into practice what I had learned on Monday. As I collected everything I needed to milk, I realized that I didn’t make the udder cleanser or udder balm. (I love making lists and planning things out, but when not written down, those lists in my head get clouded by the everyday tasks and happenings and forgotten.) I remembered some people use sensitive baby wipes as a cleanser but after a search of the house, I could find none. So I went online and searched through recipes until I found the ones that I liked, and I made my cleanser and balm. Out the door, I went with all of the items I needed to milk the goats.  As I open the slider to my backyard, I could hear the baby goats screaming. I thought poor things I hope they haven’t been doing this all night. I opened the barn door to see three babies had snuck in with the mommas. There are three momma goats in milk and each of them had one of their babies with them. Because those babies were nursing through the night, the mommas won’t have extra milk for me. Then, I looked at the remaining three babies still in the babies stall and I see blood. I was so scared. After further examination, I found that the blood was from one doeling, and it was the cap (scab) on her head from being disbudded that was bleeding and through play, she had gotten it on another doeling. I put antiseptic on the area and all was good.

I decided I was going to at least try milking them knowing not to expect much. The first doe was up on the milk stand and enjoying her breakfast as I proceeded to milk her, I didn’t get much milk but she was well behaved. The second doe on the milk stand was happily enjoying her breakfast but would not let her milk down for me. I got no milk from her. (That is common in the beginning when the kids are being dam raised as the mother is used to letting her milk down for the babies.) The third doe on the milk stand happily enjoyed her breakfast as I milked what little reserve she had.

Altogether, the milk totaled less than a quarter cup but I could not have been happier.  Despite the morning setbacks, I had accomplished the dream of milking my very own goats, in turn, fulfilling another dream of providing my family with fresh milk from happy healthy animals. Today, my family tried drinking goats milk for the first time ever. They all loved it!

Always remember that our dreams are rarely handed to us. It takes hard work and sometimes those dreams are wrapped in setbacks and exhaustion. That feeling of accomplishment you get when you reach your dream is amazing. When you look back and see all the obstacles you faced and overcame you can say it was all worth it.

Remember to dream big but don’t miss the moments on the way to it. Those moments are what molds you into the person you are and the person you will become.

God bless