My Average Morning

My family shares a dairy cow with our neighbors, and we milk it every morning. I milk on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. My sisters Amy (13) and Katie (12), milk together on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Since my brother Ryan works during the week, he only milks on Saturday. Anyways, here is what my typical mornings are like. It varies slightly from day to day.

Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday (My days to milk)

11: 25 p.m. - 5:25 a.m.: zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

5:25 a.m.: Alarm goes off. My mind is clouded from sleep, and I wonder why I set my alarm. Push snooze button and roll over..

5:30 a.m.: Alarm goes off again. I turn alarm off, climb out of bed, and start getting ready to go.

5:35 a.m.: I can only find one glove. Frustration. Finally, I find a different pair.

5:37 a.m.: Open the garage door, and start the van (and make sure Ryan’s car is not parked behind me :)

5:40 - 5:50 a.m.: I arrive at the Garno’s home, still half asleep, and definitely not ready to start milking. I walk inside, and start getting ready anyway (No, the cow is not in the house!). Mrs. Garno walks into the kitchen. She greets me with a cheerful good morning, and I sleepily answer back. She probably wonders how it can possibly take me so long to get ready to milk. All I have to do is grab the milker (that is what we milk into), and fill up a small pail with warm, soapy water. What I’m really doing is savoring my few moments of warmth in their house;)

5:51 - 6:10 a.m.: I clean up the manure (obviously the most fun part), and give Daisy some grain and hay. Then I lock her in the stanchion, and start cleaning her teats off.

6:11 a.m.: I start milking. By now I’m wide awake. Nothing wakes you up like the smell of fresh manure.

6:20 a.m.: I finish milking and unlock the cow from the stanchion. I grab the milk, turn off the lights in the barn, and, after I give the steer some milk, I start walking back toward the Garno’s home

6:30 a.m.: I begin to strain the milk into gallon jugs, and end up getting about a 1 ¾ gallons. I wash the milker, grab our milk, and drive home.

6:55 a.m.: I put the milk in the fridge, grab the coffee beans out of the freezer and start making a pot of coffee. Then I walk back out into the garage, and start chopping kindling.

7:10 a.m.: The fire is blazing by now (I hope anyway ;) and I pour myself a cup of coffee. Then I sit in front of the fire and start doing school.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday (My sisters’ days to milk:)

11:30 p.m. - 6:30 a.m.: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

6:32 a.m.: ring, ring, ring, ring (phone). Again, my mind is clouded from sleep. I look at the ceiling (projection clock) and think I don’t have to get up until my alarm goes off. I turn over. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

6:33 a.m.: ring, ring, ring, ri… I manage to jump out of bed, climb down the ladder (I sleep in a bunk bed), and answer the phone in time. My sisters want me to come pick them up (my dad drives them over there in the morning when he leaves for work). I get a tip from Amy that Ryan’s car is parked behind the van.

6:35 a.m.: I move Ryan’s car out of the way. Then I start the van and drive to the Garno’s.

6:45 a.m.: I’m still waiting for the girls. I’m freezing because the van’s engine isn’t warm enough to produce heat. Temperature: 9* F.

6:47 a.m.: Finally the van starts to heat up. Amy opens the door. She starts putting her stuff in the van. I tell her to hurry up, because all the heat was escaping. Next, I tell her that it’s not right to get a guy out of his warm bed, on a freezing cold morning, and then make him wait forever. She says I didn’t have to wait very long, and I’m too tired to argue.

6:49 a.m.: Katie climbs in the van. I drive home.

6:55 a.m.: Katie grabs the coffee beans out of the freezer and starts making a pot of coffee for me (what a nice sister!!). Then I go into the garage, and start chopping kindling.

7:10 a.m.: Amy and Katie are in bed. The fire is not blazing (not the best fire ever :( but I pour myself a cup of coffee anyway. Then I sit in front of the fire and start doing school.

7:45 a.m.: I make myself some breakfast, and do more school.

8:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.: Different everyday!