All That You Do...

All that you do
Do with your might.
Things done in halves
​Are never done right.

This quote is hanging on our wall and it is one I am always reminding the boys of.

​We all often get run down and tired and just want to get it over with, but kids tend to wear down faster and have more difficulty seeing the finish line.

This is the last week of school. 

​The boys spent all weekend finishing up papers and pushing hard to get the last assignments finished.

​They are tired...summer is calling them...they just want to be done.

​They want to give up...but they can't give up, because the job is not yet done.

​I may be pushing, prodding and preaching to my kids, but finishing well is just as hard for me.

​Starting is easy.

​The beginning of the school year is easy...mid-terms are hard.

​Breaking 4-H calves at the beginning of the summer is easy...walking calves in mid-July is hard.

​Summer break brings us a new beginning and an opportunity to start with a clean slate. 

​An opportunity to establish good habits from day one.

​Learn to do things right the first time.  It is much easier and faster than having to redo a job not done right.​

If it is worth doing...it is worth doing right.

​A half dry cow collects more dirt...which means you have to wash your cow more frequently.  So make sure your cow is actually dry...not just mostly dry.

​The one tree that didn't get trimmed around is the only tree you will see...not all the ones that did get done.

​Don't wash the tractor and forget to wash the tires...the next time you drive the tractor the mud in the treads will fling all over the clean tractor.  When you wash the tractor...wash ALL of the tractor.

Hay isn't done when the last bale is stacked in the barn.  Hay is done when the baler is cleaned out and all the equipment is backed in the barn.

​The cows aren't fed when the grain pan is full, but the hay bunk is empty.

​Water isn't done when a dirty water trough is topped off.  Empty and clean the dirty water trough before you refill it.  Besides...it is much easier to dump out a half-full water trough than a completely full one. ​

It's all in the details.

It's the little things that make the difference.

​Add that extra round of show sheen to add the extra soft touch to your cow's hair.

​Take the time to run the shedding comb across the cow's backs.

​Pull the one pesky little week before it becomes a big weed.

​Replace that one staple on the fence before 3 more staples fall out and leaves you with a saggy fence. 

Getting to the finish line is hard work.

​Washing cows every day of your summer break is hard and tedious work.

​It is easy to get frustrated, tired and discouraged, but just because something is hard doesn't mean you get to give up.

​Because...the reward at the finish line is so much sweeter for a job done right.

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