“The multiverse is a weird place; you get completely screwed over by one person,
and out of nowhere some complete stranger makes it better.”
George summed up our day yesterday really well with the words above. As you probably know, we’ve been fretting because we were scammed by a seller on eBay (you can read the sordid details here) in attempting to purchase a refurbished milking machine for our goats. While we have filed a claim with eBay, the very earliest we can expect our refund is the 30th, and there is a chance that if our girls give birth early, we’d need it as soon as this weekend! We’re hoping that the baby goats don’t arrive until next weekend, but the gestation period for goats, while typically 150 days, can range from 143-157 days. So our lack of milking equipment was causing us a lot of concern.
I eased into my office chair yesterday morning, figuring I’d check my email to see if there had been any progress on the eBay claim, and was absolutely floored by what I found in my email inbox. There was a notice of a donation received, in the amount of $182.00. The exact amount that we’d been scammed for by the eBay jerk. I didn’t recognize the name or email address of the very kind person who donated, and realized quickly that it was a complete stranger who had shown deep compassion and generosity to us. Verklempt is probably the best word to describe how I responded – just on the verge of tears that represented relief, joy, and gratitude. The anonymous donor and I have corresponded, and they’ve very kindly given me permission to share this story with you.
What has this enabled us to do? We are now able to purchase the parts needed for George to put together a milking machine for me. It’s not going to be electric, but for a starter machine, that is just fine! We procured a “MityVac” hand vacuum pump yesterday, and we are tracking down the hose, teat cups, and storage tank components today. In other words, we aren’t in a full-out panic about what we are going to do, and it’s all thanks to the gracious altruism of our kind benefactor.
You go through life encountering all kinds of people – and when you have the misfortune of dealing with someone like the eBay scammer we ran into, it’s easy to slip into a dark place where you just want to close yourself off from the world, thinking you’re protecting yourself. But the lesson I’ve learned over the years is that there are plenty of good folks out there whom you’d close yourself off from if you don’t allow anyone in. And make no mistake – I’m not suggesting that a monetary donation is what determines good/bad in a person. No, it’s the motive, the good heart of a person who feels compelled to help when they see fellow human beings in distress. It’s realizing that you are connected to other people who share your belief in values like honor, compassion, and integrity. That’s the deeper water you wade into and it’s just really refreshing.
I should take this opportunity to mention that we’ve had some other donors (who shall remain anonymous) over the past several weeks whose contributions have helped to purchase baby chick chow, as well as the eight little Indian Runner ducklings who we brought home last Friday from TSC. I am humbled and honored that you feel compelled to help our little farm out like you have. I hope that through my writing here, I am able to convey our gratitude and to provide virtual glimpses of the farm, our animals, and our growth that bring you all joy. We feel so fortunate to have the life that we do here, and one of my main motivations for having this site is to be able to share it with you all. If I am able to bring smiles to others by recounting our farming adventures, that gives me a deep satisfaction that I can’t begin to describe. I like to bring happiness to others lives whenever I can, simply put.
Speaking of joy, check out those cute little duckies! They are growing like mad, and are darling little waddlers. We’ll be moving them and their chick companions to the outside brooder house this weekend, to make room in the basement brooder for the 24 Khaki Campbell ducklings due to arrive, hopefully on Sunday. We’ll see how the USPS handles the shipment this time – we are crossing our fingers that there are no problems this time. I did speak with the customer service representative again a couple of weeks ago, and she was communicating to the area managers that there had been an issue, and there was supposed to be a reminder training session for those employees who are involved in these weekend shipments of live animals, so we’ll see what happens.
I need to get some video of the little Indian Runner ducks for you – they resemble penguins when they are running! I’ve taken to calling them penguiducks as a result. I’ll try to get that video today to post up tomorrow.
So, with my faith in humanity healing away, a smile on my face, and gratitude that I cannot begin to describe, I’m moving through my Thursday. I hope that everyone is well, and you too have something happy in your life to smile about today.
And once again, thank you, kind benefactor, for your generosity to strangers – your graceful action holds a value exponentially higher than the dollar amount involved. You are a gem!
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