Okay. I can do this.
Since writing that last post, I picked up the pork, got things figured out with customers who will be coming tomorrow for their halves, and I got a big misunderstanding figured out with the butcher. When the hogs were first butchered, I calculated that my cut/wrap/cure fees would total roughly $130, but I budgeted for $150, just in case there was some fee that I didn't know about. On Saturday night the butcher called to tell my end total for the cut/wrap/cure and his quote made me blanch. He said I owed him $276.20 for 200 lbs. of pork.
I panicked. I had budgeted for $150 maximum, not $276+!! And that's where the main bit of stress was coming in that had me working out like a maniac. Cash flow is always a bit tight at the end of each month, and this quoted amount was painful. I knew I could do it, it just wouldn't be fun.
When my dad and I got to the meeting place with the butcher (THAT was nice! He met us halfway and didn't charge a cent for his gas/time!), he immediately began apologizing; saying he had given me the wrong total amount over the phone! At those words, I felt a large piece of stress lifting off me like a fog rolls off the hills. Apparently the quote he had given me included the kill, slaughter, and rendering fees which I had already paid at the start.
So my end total for the cut/wrap/cure? $126. I was right after all, with four dollars to spare. ;)
Just having that bit of unexpected good news has helped me kick this stress funk I've been feeling. My normal, stubborn self is creeping back, and I think once the cow lands tomorrow, I will be able to handle the rest of this week without the possibility of killing myself from too much running. Hehe.
Tomorrow I will patch the wheelbarrow wheel so that I can finish cleaning out the pig pen. I should have that done in a couple hours. After that I will ready the milking stall for tomorrow night's first milking. I can do this. I no longer say, "I think I can, I think I can." Now I say, "I know I will, I know I will."
And it's moments like this where I mentally shout my battle cry:
"CHAAAAAAARGE!!!!"
Ready or not World, here comes a stubborn farm girl who believes in defying the "impossible"!
I'm so glad it was a mistake I was wondering how it could be THAT far off! You can get through this, it's hard when everything comes at once and is threatening to derail but usually in the end everything goes just as planned :) You are getting a ton accomplished and worry is normal. I was relieved for you when I saw you were well within in budget, good luck with the cow!
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