Full Moon Birth
A new addition to our family
Dad wanted to create some other kind of ranch or farm on the land after dismantling the chicken ranch. There was one chicken house that was left intact for feed barrels, rabbit hutches and miscellaneous yard tools. On one side of the long, corrugated metal barn was a small stall for goats. Dad liked goats and he wanted to have a steady supply of milk for the family. He would later attempt to make cheese, but that venture didn’t last long. We had two goats. In keeping with Dad’s inability to name things, one was called “Old Mother Goat.” We also had a cat he referred to as “Old Mother Cat.” No imagination on the name front.
One night at dinner, Dad told me about the full moon. “Many times when there’s a full moon, animals that are close to having babies will give birth. Tonight is a full moon and seeing how Old Mother Goat is past her due date I am guessing she will have her kids tonight.”
“Why tonight? How can you be sure,” I demanded. It didn’t take me long to realize the terrible mistake I had made. Dad liked to read and was often a wealth of knowledge that he would spew at random in long-winded diatribes that would last for hours. “Professor Dad” began rambling about the gravitational pull of the moon and how farmers would use the moon as a way to track births and dictate which crops to plant when. The lecture lasted so long I was certain I’d live out my years at that table, would die, and become a petrified fixture in the kitchen left for future kids to climb on. I envied them so much.
“Will the Old Mother goat have her baby alone?”
“No, I plan on setting my alarm to go out and check on her throughout the night. It could happen any time. I’ve set the stall up with some hay, and her water bucket. No food after her dinner in case she goes into labor. This is so she will have an easier time. Would you like to help?”
“Help? What’s there to do? I don’t have to do anything with Old Mother Goat do I?”
“Well, maybe. Do you want to help? It would be good for you to learn. I think it’s a good lesson.”
“Oh.” I was hesitating, not understanding and not knowing what could or would be happening. “Okay, maybe I can.”
After dinner, I took my bath and got into bed. All the information that Dad had told me was swirling in my head. I asked Dad what would happen if Old Mother Goat didn’t have her kids. He assured me that she would, either tonight or tomorrow. It seemed that the moon would make it happen.
