One of the downfalls of small charities

One of the downfalls of small charities is having no one much to rely on if you are ill or an emergency comes up. I often lie in bed at night worrying over this amongst all the other worries running a sanctuary brings.

 Of course there are pluses too. The bonds that build up with the resident horses, the knowing them inside out, being able to spot immediately when things are not quite right, knowing who likes to live with who, knowing who doesn't!
I woke up this morning feeling like death warmed up, aching from top to toe and with a throat that felt like I'd eaten several small razor blades for breakfast. 
It was alright though because today we've got Astrid in at the Herefordshire sanctuary as well as two daughters both, luckily, with no lectures today but it's on days like today that it brings it home  these animals are depending on mostly me.Hearing everyone go off to feed and do the morning stint, and left alone with only breakfast TV, I gave up the self-pitying lie-in, soothed the throat with strepsils, cut the aches with flu relief pills and took the dogs out for a walk...reminding me of a few years back when I had a severe pulmonary  infection and was almost crawling round the ground picking the poo..feeling like death warmed up and tired to the bone. Siobhan too has had times when she's been out there with severe asthma hardly able to draw a breath and fighting the urge to send the horses packing..we both talk quite a lot about how wonderfully easy our lives would be if we were 'ordinary' The winters are always hard and getting harder as nothing much changes for this small charity. one day we may just call time....meanwhile I'll be back out there this afternoon, after all it's just a little cold...no time for full blown flu !