All Cooped Up & Just a Little Bit Squirrely

Just this morning my son went outside to check on his chickens. He came back inside with a video of a squirrel trapped inside the chicken coop. So, for the next fifteen minutes my daughter and I watched a frantic squirrel running and leaping from one end of the coop to the other while my son narrated the entire "show." Talk about action...it felt like we were on the "Zipper" ride at a theme park! As the squirrel leapt from tin wall to wire wall it sounded as if an all out battle were going on. When the squirrel finally found the exit he joyfully scurried atop the outdoor pen's fence line and was free at last. The chickens continued to scratch and peck none the wiser.

This little episode made me think of my life...my house is the coop, my husband and kids are the chickens, and I am the squirrel.

I feel like I spend my time leaping, jumping, flying, skittering...never quite finding a way out. Everyone around me seems to have a much more laid back approach to living...one that I secretly desire, but for the life of me can't quite achieve. I keep thinking that once I get "everything in order" I can finally begin to function. The problem with that line of thinking is that it is simply not realistic. I spin my wheels but get nowhere.

Maybe I should change the way I operate. Maybe I should start to behave more like a chicken instead of a squirrel. Sure, storing away food for the winter has its advantages, but blissfully scratching and clucking sounds pretty good too.