Cows Frolicking

I live about 8 miles away from my office and one of the things that I live is that my commute consists of about 7 and a half miles of rural driving. There's one spot in my drive that is my favorite because, well to be real honest, it doesn't look "Illinoisesque." I travel down into a valley and cross over a creek called Kickapoo Creek, and it's just hilly and rugged and beautiful. Well on Saturday, it was about 70 degrees and I was on my way to the church and it was about noonish and as I was passing over Kickapoo creek, with the windows down, the music on and Caleb in the back seat, something unexpected caught the corner of my eye. I was confused because on either side of the bridge is a pasture that the creek runs right through the middle of. And I caught just a glimpse of something fast-moving. I thought at first that it might be a large black dog, but in the brief glimpse it seemed bigger than a dog and yet it was moving in a way that seemed "happy," - like the eternal state of bliss that most dogs that are allowed to run free and play in creeks exists in. So as I drove a little further, I could see better and I realized that what I was seeing was that the farmer who owns the pasture had pulled his truck with a trailer onto the property and was releasing a small herd of cattle onto the property. And these cows, as they were released from the trailer, were frolicking. Now, I don't mean that they were just jogging a little, they were jumping and bucking and splashing in the creek, and I presume it's because they were free and it was 70 degrees and it was just a perfect day in the middle of April and if you're a cow and you're owned by a farmer who someday is going to have you ground into hamburger it's worth frolicking just because you're alive today! And I found myself laughing at the cows and thinking that I wish I was more like a cow sometimes - that I would frolic more, just because I'm alive and I'm healthy and that I get to experience this wonderful world around me. And to be perfectly honest, it made me wish that other people were more like cows sometimes. There are days when it seems that we all take ourselves so seriously and maybe we just outta take the time to frolic more often! (Note -- there are some guys that I work with who I think are great "frolickers." I love that no matter how stressful that people try to make word sometimes, they keeps things light and frankly, they make me laugh a lot -- J.D., Gary, Lonnie, Kirt -- you guys rock!) Ps. As I write this, I'm sitting at Panera, working on my laptop, with my headphones on listening to John Mayer and I'm frolicking a little. My feet are bouncing to the music, sometimes my head bobs and I'm in a really happy place. (But it's kinda funny how many funny looks I'm getting, but I guess if I'm going to be more "cow," than I really don't care if they laugh or not!)