It’s drizzling outside today. It is days like today when I sometimes regret my decision to let our new puppy in our home. I had been very firm about one rule that could never be broken if I agreed to move out to our franch. Which was, we can have as many animals as our sanity (and our land) can handle as long as they ALL live outside. Every wife needs a place of refuge from the chaos of life on a franch. Well, I soon learned the meaning of the expression “give somebody an inch and they’ll take a mile.” My eldest daughter wanted to buy some hermit crabs with her hard-earned chore money and keep them inside the walls of our home. I figured what harm could they do – they’re approximately one-inch long and live their lives hidden. I justified my leniency with the expression “out of sight, out of mind.” I softened on my rule one time, and it was soon as though it never existed. Months later, the children carried their brand new border collie puppy over the threshold without a moment hesitation. I remember opening my mouth to lecture the children about the rule violation, but their genuine smiles and infectious laughter as they played silenced me. It warmed my heart to see the bond so quickly cement between a child and dog. So, on rainy days such as today, there are muddy paw prints all over my kitchen. There are still moments when I’m frazzled and threaten to re-instate the rule. But, I calm myself, with controlled breathing, knowing our children will remember their relationship with their dog more than they ever will how well I kept our home. Thankfully, “a little dirt never hurt anyone.”
Why isn’t franch in my dictionary?
It's because my family made it up. It is both a verb and a noun. It is when you are not quite farming and you are not quite ranching. Instead, you're franching. It's like a hobby farm. But, that doesn't fit either, because it is way more than a hobby, it is a life. You spend way more than you make doing it. Yet, you still do it. And every life lesson can be learned on a franch.
FranchLife Lessons Learned
- The Lost Art of Writing Thank You
- Better than Blogging
- A Story by A Second Grader
- Summer Reading
- A Good Life
- How You Know You’re a Francher
- The Best Border Collie Ever
- Get Them Before They’re Gone
- The Old-Fashioned Way
- I’m Not Leaving
- His Mother Said That
- Easy to Make Lasagna
- A Poem in all the Mess
- Christmas Came
- If You Only Want A Sentence, You Better Say So
- God Speed the Plough
- Dinner Conversation
- Dressing Up
- Award-Winning Children or Chickens
- Love (And Little Sleep) Can Make a Fool Out of You
- A Miracle
- Do you Want the Good News or Bad News First?
- Who’s the Farmer’s Wife Now?
- Where’s Waldo?
- Just Ask Siri
- How ’bout a Toy?
- Stay
- Love Beyond Words & Borders
- It’s Chigger Time
- A Spider in a Tupperware
- Puppy Makes History
- Being a Mom Comes First
- That’s Not the End of the Story
- A Knight in Shining Armor
- A Little Bit Like Heaven
- The Grass is Sometimes Greener but it isn’t Home
- New Friends Not in a Row
- Your Life is About to Change
- Where is she?
- Franchsitters
- It’s a Matter of Perspective
- Gifts on the Franch
- Lucky
- The Day a Calf Lived
- How’s the what?
- Wooden Egg Prank Gone Wrong
- Where Did It All Go
- A Beautiful Sunrise
- Life’s Too Good on the Franch
- Sunday Best with Dirty Fingernails
- Rocking Chairs that Don’t Rock
- It’s All About the Breast
- To-Do Lists on the Franch
- The Day He Became a Hero
- Dancing on the Franch
- New Year’s with Chickens
- Exhausted yet I’d Do it all Over Again
- Reflections on Christmas on the Franch
- Not Your Mama’s Manger Scene
- Giving Back What Isn’t Ours
- Did That Just Happen?
- Hide-n-Seek on the Franch
- Man versus Water Pipe
- A Sense of Humor Required
- Unwelcome Guests
- I Won’t Run Out
- Muddy Paw Prints
- All it Takes is a Rubber Band
- Be Careful What You Wish For
- I’m Sorry, But…
- Empty Stomachs on Thanksgiving
- Franching Gets in the Way of Writing
- Animals Don’t Care
- Cow in Labor – Grab a Pitchfork, Don’t Ask Why
- No Parenting Chapter For This
- Time can Kill a Chicken
- Our Thumbs are only Light Green
- Going Broke
- In the Arena with Wild Hogs
- Franch Fashion
- Act Before You Think
- Bad Fences Make Good Neighbors
- The Birds and the Bees Hijacked by a Buck
- The Early Bird gets the Adventure
- The Other Man
- Eat Veggies Not Friends
- Saying Grace with Sincerity
- Am I a Boiled Frog?
- Why isn’t Franch in my Dictionary?
advice to me
- Grammy on Better than Blogging
- Grammy on A Story by A Second Grader
- Poppy on Better than Blogging
- Poppy on A Story by A Second Grader
- Gigi on A Good Life
- Annette on The Best Border Collie Ever
- Lin on Get Them Before They’re Gone
- Kit on The Old-Fashioned Way
- Poppy on The Old-Fashioned Way
- Lin on Easy to Make Lasagna
- Poppy on Easy to Make Lasagna
- Brad on Dinner Conversation
- Brad on Christmas Came
- Lin on Christmas Came
- Lin on God Speed the Plough
- Kelly on God Speed the Plough
- Seth on God Speed the Plough
- Kit on Love (And Little Sleep) Can Make a Fool Out of You
- Poppy on Love (And Little Sleep) Can Make a Fool Out of You
- Poppy on Just Ask Siri
Proud of you. ..funny how your boundaries extended. I was the same way until one day the kids informed me that Dad said, “We can get a dog! ”
At the time we were in an apartment. I knew what this meant. Our dog now brings a lot of fun and companionship for the kids; so I have a feeling we’ll forever have an inside dog.
Does that mean I can wear my new cowboy boots in your house when I visit?
Ok, you have elevated this blogging from children books to Hallmark movies. Sweet, hilarious and down to earth truth. Gotta love it. If I keep laughing out loud, someone is going to think I love my job.