Pround parent

I’ll admit it. I’m turning into one of those really annoying people who won’t shut up about his kids. I’m proud of them. That boy is growing so fast…he’s like a weed. And you should see him play! He’s so… exuberant. And my little girl is so cute. She follows me everywhere, and she’ll climb right into my lap without the slightest provocation.

I’m talking about my goat kids, of course. I’ve started chatting with coworkers and friends about the trials and tribulations of farming. Now I’ve even got this blog, so I can gab about my goats with an even bigger audience. I never wanted it to get this way, mind you. It’s just that most people I meet have no idea what farming is actually like. So when I say something like “man, the goats were unruly this morning” (in much the same way one says “man, traffic was terrible this morning”), I start getting questions.

Goats? Really? How many do you have? Do they really eat everything? Why did you choose goats? Don’t their eyes creep you out? Does their milk taste weird? What do you do with the milk? Do you ever sell them for meat?

Suddenly, I’m the goat ambassador. I got so used to this that I started just kind of volunteering information about my goats. I start answering the questions before anyone can ask them. And bear in mind that I’m a teacher, so I was already long-winded.

So, I guess this is just my friendly reminder that, whether I’m talking about my human child or my goat kids, you have my permission to tell me to shut up, because you’re not interested.

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As an added note, I should point out that I’ve also spent a few years working the State Fair goat show, where I have heard and attempted to answer virtually every goat question ever. This does not help my tendency to ramble.