I appreciate, so much, those who say "you're doing an amazing job". I don't hear that from my critters- they're more concerned with what's in my hands and whether or not I'm going to try to capture them. It's an absolutely thankless job and I wouldn't consider to keep doing it if I didn't love it so much.
I do get nonverbal "thanks" every now and again when the barn cat rubs her head against my hand as I'm filling her bowls or a sideways look from one of the hens that just says "hey, I know you're here and I'm okay with that". A sigh from my big dog, Ozzie, and him laying his head on my lap is another moment of gratitude that I treasure.
On my own Facebook page and the farm's Facebook page, I post things that I think are funny, uplifting, inspiring to others. I rarely, if ever, post those days when I'm down on myself because a chicken died, the dogs made a mess in the house, the cats laid on the piano and put huge tufts of hair on the top of it, I didn't get things cleaned or I just decided to sit on the sofa and watch a TV show instead of doing any number of things that need to be done around the house and the farm. On those days, I'm incredibly hard on myself and get frustrated, feeling that I've fallen short. The only words of encouragement on those days are the ones that I muster to bring from myself and sometimes that's difficult.
I've kept a journal since the first day that I moved to the farm and on those days when it feels like there's a giant gray cloud hovering over my head, I oftentimes refer back through the pages from days/months ago and read what had been happening then and what is happening now. More often than not, after reading those pages I realize that I've always managed to get through those tough times and carry on.
Faith plays a big part in managing the farm as well - I've said to people so many times that there is NO possible way you can have a farm without Faith. I don't attend a church building as often as I should, but each time I walk down to the barn and notice the land around me, a gorgeous sunrise or beautiful sunset, hear the chickens going about their daily lives or hearing any number of birds flying about or critters milling about the pond behind my property, I realize that all of this is a gift from God. I am constantly in awe of all that has been provided to me.
