Getting Caught Up

I’ve decided to post some of my columns for a while. Hope you’ll enjoy them!

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My friend Michelle and I have been sharing our “cowgirl” successes and woes with each other the past few years. We’re both stay-at-home moms who help our husbands, and between that and community activities, rarely stay home. Our kids are all mobile and can both speak and understand English now, so we have had more opportunity to get out in the cow herds the past few calving seasons.

We update each other on our experiences via Facebook. For instance, one day I tagged five calves. I shocked myself, my husband and anyone else who would listen, so I had to tell Michelle. When we post successes for each other, we always wrap up our comments on a positive note regardless of how things turned out, with a spoof on Bill Engvall’s “I’m a Cowboy” routine:

“Cause – I – AM – A – COW – GIIIRRL!!!”

I had quite a story for her last year. Hubby and I went over to a neighbor’s to help him work his cows and calves. My job was to round up four cows, sort them into a first pen, move them to the next and Hubby took them from there. I did my job very well. E’s cows are nice and very easy to work with. I kept up my end of the deal until the end. I got the last three into the first pen, opened the second, they walked in, I started closing the gate and… BAM! The gate hit me.

It’s amazing the stuff that goes through your head. You don’t usually feel pain right away, so it was hard to determine where exactly I was hit. I had heard what sounded like my sunglasses breaking, so the first thing I did was look for them. They were on top of my head, unharmed. I started frantically grabbing all over my face, trying to determine where the snap occurred and if my parts were where they should be.

In the process, I discovered a fair amount of blood.

I got the gate shut and ducked down to hide from E. I didn’t know what I looked like, and I didn’t want him to feel badly.

After coming to the conclusion that my nose had not been pushed up into my brain and that I’d probably survive, I tried to get Hubby’s attention. When he turned and saw me, his mouth dropped open and he turned white.

Maybe my nose really had made it up to my brain…

I told him I was okay, just finish the cows. I made my way over panels to get closer to the veterinarian, confident he could assess the damage for me.  By the time I made it to him, my nose was starting to hurt, and my head was pounding. I was okay. He said my nose was still straight (and not in my brain), but I’d probably have a couple of black eyes in the morning. The blood was coming from a cut just above the bridge of my nose where the gate had hit me square on. It was also coming from inside, thus making my face a bit of a mess.

I got cleaned up and put my sunglasses on to hide the top of my nose. We told E so he wouldn’t hear it through the grapevine, but I hid from his wife, hoping she wouldn’t see me as I headed for the pickup.

After my mother-in-law doctored me up, I Facebook’d Michelle. I had a story to tell! Then I stayed on the couch with ice on my face for two days. The whole left side of my body was hit pretty hard too, so I couldn’t get up anyway.

I’m very thankful a bunged-up nose was my worst injury. I still have a bump where I was hit. And sometimes it hurts when I push my glasses up. I’m also thankful for my battle scars. They serve as constant reminders to not let myself relax too much while working around cattle.

They are also a reminder of one other thing: That I – AM – A – COW – GIIIRRL!