On a personal note...

These days it isn't often I get the chance to switch hats, shift gears and get back to basics. As owner of a growing Sussex County Marketing and Creative Services group and single parent-time seems to fly by  pretty quickly. Add to that mix the responsibilities of a small farm (yes, we raise sheep!) and the day to day of running a house-or figuring out how to get things running again- and well...let's just say, it's a full life.

For the past ten years, my daughters and I have bred and raised a small farm flock of beautiful wool sheep. As a 4H leader and parent-NJ State Fair exhibitor and fiber artist- I have been fortunate to be able to share my personal passion for agriculture, sheep and wool with lots of folks-but it has always been a special treat to work with kids outside the 4H livestock club-helping them make the connections between the products they use, the clothes they wear, the food they eat and the livestock we produce. It's rewarding when you see those "lightbulbs" go off and experience the joy kids get when petting the lamb.

So when I was invited to present a program about raising sheep, at Rolling Hill's Primary School's Harvest Day celebration,  I was thrilled-and immediately said "Yes!"- then I checked my schedule- proposals, Press Releases, campaigns, deadlines, paperwork and a thousand other things-color coded "messages to me"-crammed into my Entourage calendar- like colorful confetti floating through the month. I paused for a moment of second thought-then slid things around and cleared October 30-creating a "me"day-well, OK- a "me"space in the day-cause I deserved a break!

After a full day of meetings, calls and work I spent the night carefully packing "The Sheep Lady" box- filling it with clean fiber, spun yarn, crafting tools, sculpture samples and hand dyed bursts of wooly color. I selected the lucky lamb who would represent my flock and be tasked with the job of helping me explain the importance of agriculture and how livestock has played an important role in our human history. I trimmed, cleaned and groomed him-packed up his supplies - portable pen, bucket, grain, hay etc and prepared for a full day ahead while rehearsing my presentation.

The truth- I was feeling a bit guilty and still second guessing myself -What ever made me think I had time for all of this?  But too late- I gave my word.

The morning came early-but with help from a friend, everything got loaded up and we made it to the school. A damp and dreary day was cheered by the steady interaction with the kids-great kids-interested in learning all about sheep, wool and loaded with insightful and delightful questions.

When the last group left and the school bell announced the close of the day, I began to pack up-with my cell phone glued to my ear. I checked in on the mountain of tasks I had pushed aside. Though the day was great- things had really piled up.  With my body at the school but my head back at the work - a little voice nagged the question "Was it was really "smart" to have skipped out of the office for the day?"

A slight delay in checking out with the School Admin kept me in the office just long enough for one of the staff to recognize me as "the Sheep Lady" took a moment to share this gift with me.

It seems at some point during the day a young, autistic boy had joined us in the presentation area. There was a lot going on under the tent-colors, textures, tons of kids and of course Ramsies-the sheep. The young student had become a little overly stimulated during the presentation so his teacher thought it better to quietly take him back to the classroom.

Reluctantly, he followed her back inside and they engaged in a calming activity. After a few moments, the boy got up and went to the window.  He looked out at the presentation still underway- turned to his teacher and said, " I want to go back outside and see the sheep!" His teacher was taken back-not by his tone or insistence- but by the fact that these were the first words her young student has ever spoken! The FIRST...

I am fortunate. I head a growing marketing and creative services group that keeps me busy-I am a single parent-I manage a small farm operation and have a calendar that looks like a colorful ticker-tape parade of appointments and tasks ...and sometimes an opportunity to share those blessings comes along-I am fortunate.