I have about 30 young 'uns. About half my flock was killed by a dumb dog last winter so I need replacements. They're about a month old and for the first time this week, I started letting them out their coop.
I couldn't quite get the picture I wanted, so you'll have to use your imagination. I left the coop door open and then stood by the gate to see what they would do. At first, a handful of them stood at the door and looked. I would swear I heard their thoughts.
"What is THAT?" "You check it out." "I'm not doin' it. You do it."
There is one young rooster you seemed to take charge of things. He perched on the threshold of the coop. Turned his neck right, then left, the right again. He touched a toe to the dirt and quickly brought his foot back to the familiarity of straw. Then he put one foot down the dirt. The second. He looked around. He checked it out. Then he went back inside the coop. He stepped out again and then he crowed. A weak, scratchy going-through-puberty kind of crow.
It took a while, but eventually the other young chicks stepped out into the dirt. They scratched at the fresh dirt. They explored.
It was like turning a bunch of middle schoolers at a museum. It's not really cool to have fun at a museum at first, but eventually one of the kids will decide it's actually not that bad and then, by the end of the field trip the kids are disappointed to leave.
Nature is a funny thing. It's easy for us humans to forget we're all part of the same animal kingdom. These chickens and us -- we're really not that far apart in the big picture. Be it biology or God's plan, we're each created with a specific plan or job. It's also easy to try to redirect that plan, but sometimes, we're created to be who we are. We can try to change, but nature or God--however you choose to define it --has a plan.
I've been watching our little "wild" chick Uno and her mother. Just like I've always seen in books and on television, at the first sign of danger the little chick snuggles underneath her mother.
She's puffed out to twice her size. Most of my chickens are narrow through the breasts and hind quarters. Mama hen is a round ball right now.
Most women get a little rounder when they give birth and far too many of us panic. Will we ever get that girlish figure back? Then most of us sell our soul to the diet industry to get that figure back. When it doesn't happen, we beat ourselves up for being failures.
I know I have.
But what if those curves are there on purpose. What if Mother Nature or God designed us like that? What if we need those extra pounds for some reason? What if we just stopped worrying about it and allowed ourselves to enjoy the divine design?
I've been working on this lately and I have to say it's entirely freeing. I take care of myself better (it's easier when your hands are not busy with self flagellation )I see the joy in things like a young chick instead of panicking that I haven't worked out enough or eaten the right amount of vegetables.
I don't know if I've lost weight. I don't actually care. I enjoy my life. I feel better. I appreciate all that I am and all the blessings that have been lavished upon me. I'm thankful for every stretch mark and roll because it's allowed me to see the world through different eyes. I can't sit in judgement, like I used to. I have to find compassion for myself and other in ways I did not do before. I'm entirely lucky to be where I am right now and am passionate about living each day to the fullest.
At the risk of sounding like an episode of Oprah, I really feel like it's time for our society to be nicer to each other and most importantly, be kinder to ourselves. We are all beautiful and unique because that's how we were created. To believe otherwise to hold idols above ourselves and that, we all know, is a waste of time.
So now, instead of chasing a perfection that can never be mine, I'll spend time watching my chickens and it's time well spent.
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