And now, for the post script to the calf story

Cliff and I have been planning since February to attend the Wing Ding in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this coming weekend. It was close enough, this year, that we could ride our motorcycle without being on the road for days.

We've wanted to attend one of these rallies ever since we got our first Gold Wing, and had planned on attending the one in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. Then Cliff got sidelined by CABG surgery. Seriously sidelined.

So this year we signed up to go, and made our reservations. We rescheduled our son's annual visit that is usually around Independence Day. We got our T-shirts in the mail.

Then we bought a Jersey cow. Cliff told me when we bought her that the timing was all wrong, that she was due to calve about the time we'd be leaving to go to the Wing Ding. And yet, he encouraged me to buy her.

"It'll be OK," I told him. "We'll just leave the cow and calf in the pen behind the barn, and have your sister make sure she has hay and water. We'll only be gone for three days."

Well, after yesterday's happenings, it got me thinking about all the things that could go wrong. Milk fever, for instance. Or the calf might get scours (diarrhea) and die.

Every time I thought about missing the Wing Ding, I teared up. Every time I thought about leaving the cow and calf at this critical time, I teared up. And I don't tear up easily.

So, with a lump in my throat, I called and canceled our hotel reservations.

Cliff's sister could keep an eye on the animals, and so could our daughter. The trouble is, they wouldn't really know what signs to look for; they can't diagnose cattle problems.

We invested too much money in this cow (more than she's worth these days, but she is a beauty) to take the chance of her dying while we're off riding the motorcycle.

I intend to let her calf run in the pasture with her, once he's strong enough; within a month or so, he'll be able to take all her milk. If we need milk, I'll put him in the barn lot overnight so I can milk her the next morning. Otherwise, Baby will take care of the milking.

I do believe that things generally work out for the best. So we'll just assume this happened for a reason, while knowing that this leaves us funds for a different vacation to some other spot.

Wing Ding

Ever since we bought our first Honda Gold Wing, we've wanted to attend Wing Ding, an annual Gold Wing motorcycle rally; it's held around the Fourth of July at various cities across the country.

In 2006 it was held in Nashville, and we were making our plans to attend when Cliff, in April of that year, had a very un-anticipated open heart surgery. He was in no shape to ride a motorcycle that far, a short three months later. In 2007 the rally was held in Montana, which is farther than we care to ride a motorcycle, much as I'd love to see Montana. In 2008, it was in South Carolina. Again, that's a long motorcycle trip. Very long.

This year it's in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A mere hop, skip and jump away. I imagine we could be there in six hours.

We'll have to change the time of our annual reunion, which is always held here on July 4. But that shouldn't be too hard. If our son plans to come for his annual visit this year, we'd let him choose the dates he'd like to be here. He's the only one who lives a long distance away, so we could have our family get-together any old time, really.

So if we're going, I have reservations to make and T-shirts to order.

And I'm looking over all the fun things to do, like this: "Wing Ding attendees will have the opportunity to visit Blue Bell for a guided tour during Wing Ding 31. In 1992, Blue Bell built its Broken Arrow facility, located southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This guided tour offers a short video about Blue Bell and how they make their ice cream and a FREE scoop of ice cream!"

Hey, I don't get out much. That sounds like fun to me!

Looking at the schedule, I see there's a time slot for weddings? Hmm, maybe Cliff and I should renew our vows. (I'm just kidding; I hate weddings.)

I think we'll go! I'm crossing fingers and toes hoping that no unexpected health issues interfere this year.