What we carry

      Despite still fighting this cold, I was out in my backyard a few hours ago playing in the water. Well, actually I was cleaning my backyard fountain. My so-helpful roomie noticed that the pump was getting clogged, and it either had to be shut down or cleaned. I considered shutting it down, but the pump loses its prime easily and it's a lot of work to prime it again. The pump is also what keeps the fountain basin from becoming a haven for breeding mosquitoes.
      So I put on old clothes, wrapped up my throat, went outside and cleaned it. Naturally I got soaked, but it was a nice day outside and I didn't get chilled. Hopefully no harm will result from it, and the fountain looks nice.
      Since I was out there, I cleaned the birdbath and filled it and watered some flowers. I started to feel kind of shaky at that point so I came in to dry off and sit for a bit. I probably shouldn't have done it, but it needed to be done.
      It's that way with my fish. They're on a regular schedule of water changes for their tank. Have to have the changes to stay healthy. I had planned on changing the water and cleaning the tank Sunday afternoon, but I felt so bad that I considered just letting it go. But the tank had a strong fishy smell, and when it does, it can become septic fast and kill a lot of fish. So despite how I felt, I cleaned the tank. The fish are happy. Or I guess they are. It's hard to tell with fish.
      I grew up on a farm, and that's one lesson I learned well: Chores don't stop just because you're sick or have an event you want to go to or a ballgame to attend. Cattle, hogs, chickens, goats and sheep have to be fed and watered, especially in the winter. They depend on you, and if you let down on your end, they can die quick. On a small farm, you can't afford that.
      When my dad was so sick with cancer, he still got out there and fed his animals for as long as he physically could. That's what he did for the creatures who depended on him: He took care of them.
      It's our responsibilities that define us. What we carry and how we carry them is our true measure. Without exception, this applies to our job, our children, our spouse, our church, our nation, everything in our lives.
      This is why I get disgusted with parents who put their needs before those of their children. It seems my community is filled with people who run off with their boyfriends/girlfriends/both and leave their children to be raised by the children's grandparents or other relatives. How worthless can a person be?
      Because of a secondary business that my boss owns, I get to see quite a few people who have chosen drugs or alcohol or abusive lovers over their children. It's horribly sad, and it makes me angry. I wonder why they had children in the first place. Didn't they realize that they were given a responsibility? Didn't they realize that they were given a gift? Are they so selfish that they can't see how they're hurting their children? Or are they so far gone that they can't see anything but their own needs?
      Mind you, I'm talking about small children, babies who can't take care of themselves, who need an adult and who have had the misfortune to be born to some selfish jerks. Eventually the children end up with a relative or, God help them, the state child care system or sometimes they end up dead.
      When did responsibility become a dirty word? Isn't accepting the tasks put before you the sign of an adult? When did our culture decide that being young and carefree were the only things to strive for?
      It's time to change that. To stand up and be adults. To be mature and make intelligent decisions for our children and our world. It's time to grow up. If we fail to do this, future generations will not be kind when they judge us. But if we don't grow up politically, environmentally and spiritually, we might not have to worry about their judgment because there might not be any future generations. And that's a failure I can't bear to consider.