I don't really sleep anymore; as the sun descends I watch the fire of the sunset in the sky and it is the highlight for me as we enter into the long hours each night.
Upon discovering that baby Wynn was still fighting an infection in the coffin bone of her hoof, we started another round of antibiotics, administered every 6 hours for several weeks. We give her a full meal before each dose, followed by aloe vera juice to help coat her stomach and then we give her the actual dose. It takes us about 1 hour and 15 minutes in the whole process. So far, she has not lost her appetite, gotten diarrhea, or started bleeding from her mouth which were all after effects last time we gave her this antibiotics. She has a lot of energy and she rewards our efforts with her enthusiasm for life, her soft nickers and her sweet sweet attitude. We absolutely adore her, and I have so much hope in my heart that we are getting ahead of this awful infection. This girl deserves life.
Lochlan hasn't been sleeping which is also why I'm no longer sleeping. Last night we went to bed at 10:00 because he was really upset and couldn't go to sleep. Then, we got up at 2:00 to take care of Wynn and Lochlan was already awake, laughing in his bed. He laughed and kicked the wall until 4:30 when he finally fell back to sleep. At 6:00 he headed out the front door. I heard the door shut, but it's not unusual for him to go out to the zip line first thing in the morning, so I ambled out of bed to put the tea water on. Declan shouted, "Mom, where is Lochlan? He was naked when I saw him last." Sure enough, he was running naked alongside the zip line in our big field where all our neighbors have an extraordinary view. Congratulations to our neighbors.
So, I've concluded that sleep is overrated... or at least in this season. Today, I called a "sick day" for all of us because Lochlan woke up on the cranky side of town and I woke up aching all over. I think the extreme fatigue is my only actual ailment, however. Every day is filled with the things that must be done, the stuff of life, the very hard realities, the things we invest in for our future and the overwhelmingly beautiful parts of life.
Right now, every day feels like a struggle... but with every season there is a season that will follow. I love what I see around me and this life is rich and abundant. There is frost and dust and wind, but there is also sunshine and mountains and the promise of spring.