Darryl with the Christmas lights is the butt of this comic, but it hits close to home. For us, it was cows, not lights that elicited the question, “Mind if I watch?”
We were new to cattle farming and didn’t begin to know what we didn’t know. Advanced degrees aren’t worth the parchment they’re printed on when it comes to rounding up cattle. Mr. Doby, who lived in our farmhouse, knew quite a lot- parchment be damned. He knew that he wasn’t on the roundup committee, so in his country drawl asked, “Mind if I watch?”. I’m pretty sure he would have stepped in to help if it became clear that the cows were winning, but ultimately, the humans bested the bovines. Even the seemingly pathetic cow named Wiggly Horns submitted, eventually. A successful roundup was celebrated by all. Well, maybe celebrated overstates things. Relieved best describes the cattle farmer and his helpers.
There was no popcorn accompanying this show, but Mr. Doby still pronounced it good entertainment.
With practice, we’ve gotten better at corralling and loading cattle. But I’m not counting on this doing ever feeling celebratory. Relief that we not only tried, but did, will be plenty good enough.