Christmas

My Christmas holiday is an experience that can’t be summed up in a paragraph or two. This is why I have been stuck on writing about it for 4 months now. With every sentence I write the words never do the experience any justice. But regardless here it is:

I spent my holiday in Narrabri with the Buckman family. Jemima and I weren’t close friends at the time but I jumped at the opportunity to spend Christmas in a family environment never expecting that it would have the impact it did on me.

It was an 8hr car ride to Narrabri that was filled with anxiety because I couldn’t believe that I had just agreed to live on a farm for 8 days…I don’t even like animals! But regardless the car ride went fast as I chatted with Jemima’s sister Rebekah; Jemima and Mr. Buckman followed in the car behind us. Rebekah soon found that little everyday things excited me, during the trip I saw road kill kangaroos and wallabies, got randomly selected to do a breathalyzer (well Rebekah did since she was driving), and as dusk came upon us kangaroos could be spotted. It was straight out of the movie Australia just having them hopping alongside the road. I was mesmerized by them.

Once we arrived I was informed that bottle feeding the two pet lambs would be Jemima and mine’s job. Since the Roger and Errol didn’t have mothers they were allowed in the house yard which meant that bright and early in the morning you could hear them crying out for food because they were hungry. Roger became my little baby and turns out I really miss feeding him, it was one of favorite things during my stay. Errol, Jemima’s little man has since passed away due to a dog attack. These things happen; I just didn’t realize how hard it was.

Christmas day was HOT! We opened presents, made snow (courtesy of Jemima), helped with the preparation of the feast, went for a dip in the pool (check out facebook for these pics), and just enjoyed being with the family. But because farm life is 24/7 work still needed to be done, animals needed to be feed and the windmill turned on. (Once again please check out facebook to see the very sexy outfits we were in to turn off the windmill on Christmas).

For such a dry place the week I was there it rained quite a lot after Christmas. Things around the farm started to get green fast. But after it rains you can go up to the national park that borders the Buckman farm and see this amazing phenomenon…hot pink slugs. They were everywhere. It was not only a first for me but for some of the Buckman family members as well.

I wish that I could describe the struggles of farm life but I know that even what I experienced is nothing compared to what the Buckmans go through. But here is a link from a contest that Jemima won back in 2008, where she describes an incident that hit the family hard.

http://blogs.abc.net.au/heywire/2009/01/heywire-winn-19.html

To understand farm life you must experience it. I have such respect and love for the Buckman family and will always hold them dear to my heart.