Best laid plans

It appeared everything was falling in place as I checked off my to-do list at a blistering pace. The relief milkers were ready to handle all the cattle chores. Check. Our neighbor boy was eager to come over and feed the calves between his own calf chores. Check. There were no cattle due to calve while we were gone. Check. Emergency numbers were displayed in the barn, just in case. Check.

I switched over to my personal check list. Mark’s dress shirts were pressed. Our formal clothes were in hanging bags, clinging to the edge of the closet door. I had my travel activity bag packed with books to read and notebooks to write down ideas for new adventures. Check. Check. Check.

We had been praying for clear skies and dry roads as we ventured to Madison, Wisconsin, for Michael and Rachel’s wedding at the end of February. You never know for sure what kind of weather you’ll be dealing with, but it appeared God was answering our prayers. Everything seemed to be falling into place, just like we planned.

Woah, stop the bus. Like we planned? Have you ever heard the story about who’s in control? If you want to make God laugh, just tell him what your plans are. Despite all our best-laid plans, it may not be the direction God had in mind.

I created my checklist to get me through a very busy wedding week. I didn’t want to drop the ball between all our commitments. Our county American Dairy Association had a booth at the Farm Show on Tuesday and Wednesday that week. I worked both days, serving ice cream and laughter to people who stopped by. It is always so much fun talking with the different people who wander by the booth. They always seem glad to talk as you hand them ice cream cups and other dairy items.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one sharing on those days. I must have picked up a bug of some sort. By Thursday morning, I couldn’t crawl back into bed fast enough after feeding my calves. I felt miserable. I thought I could just sleep it off and would be ready to travel the next day.

Jackson was able to come over and feed calves that evening for me, as I tried to build back my strength. I remember yelling out the front door to his mom to thank her for bringing him over a day early to help. It was 4:30 p.m. and time for Jeopardy. The next thing I remember, it was after 1 a.m., and I was in a hospital room.

After milking that night, Mark found me unconscious on the kitchen floor between the island and the counter. My left eye was swollen shut, ringed by colors of deep purple and blue. Poor guy was having flashbacks of 20 years earlier when he found me passed out on the bathroom floor. At least he instinctively knew to call for an ambulance this time.

What we have concluded is that I passed out due to a combination of low blood pressure, high fever and dehydration. I also ended up testing positive for COVID. To add insult to injury, the nose piece of my glasses busted my nose on impact. The best news out of all of this: I wasn’t in any pain. At this point, I’m taking all miracles, large and small.

Despite all this bad news, there are still blessings. Becca grew up across the field from us. She and Katie are best friends. She grew up to be an emergency room nurse at our hospital and was working that night. She guided us through all the hospital stuff and got me settled into a room. She knew Mark was anxious about me and the wedding. In God’s perfect timing, Becca had that weekend off and volunteered to take care of me at home so Mark could attend the wedding.

Everything else just seemed to fall into place. The wedding was perfect. I was able to watch a live stream of the ceremony. The best part is that my feet didn’t hurt because I didn’t have to break in a new pair of shoes. I could relax on the floor with an ice pack on my face and just chill out as the kids made their vows to one another. I did miss a great meal, but I was still able to “dance” with Michael during the mother/son dance as my sister FaceTimed me as we all danced together. There wasn’t a dry eye among us.

It is strange how all this “new” technology is so commonplace in our lives. We break down in the fields and can FaceTime the repair shop or parts guy to get back up and running. We can pin an exact location for direct fertilizer deliveries without even getting off the tractor. We can always have an “eye” on what our cattle have been up to with their activity monitors. It’s kind of nice how this new way of doing things can give us new opportunities to keep our jobs moving forward and stay connected to those who aren’t so close.

Even with these setbacks in all my planning, I’ll still keep trying to map out my steps. I’ll just try to make sure I check in with the one who has the master plan so I can follow his best-laid plan.

As their four children pursue dairy careers off the family farm, Natalie and Mark Schmitt started an adventure of milking registered Holsteins just because they like good cows on their farm north of Rice, Minnesota.