The Day that Was Not Filled with Hope or Joy

Tuesday-Dunwell Family Acreage

Guess what? Today was not filled with hope or joy.
Today, the cows got out because someone “Didn’t leave the gate open! I promise!” That was a quote from Eddie. For honesty’s sake, I might as well tell you that he did leave the gate open. WIDE OPEN. But we didn’t realize that the cows were even out until a few hours later when we heard them stampeding around the yard like earthquakes on legs. We’ve only got 5 cows, but they make enough noise for a whole herd.
“Kids, we’ve got a stampede on our hands! Grab your boots and get out there!”. That was Dad’s overly dramatic call to arms. It resulted in a mad scramble to the back door, where everyone began jamming shoes/boots on, and trying not to trip over each other. Then we rushed out the door, led by Eddie holding a hoe. I think he was trying to redeem himself by being the most enthusiastic.
His enthusiasm did not work. Instead of heading back towards the gate, which was where we were hoping they would go, the cows headed onto the road. That wouldn’t have been so bad, except for the fact that there was someone in a pickup driving along the road right at that unfortunate moment. It was Josiah Callahan (though everyone calls him Joe), the town grouch. Every town’s got a grouch, you know. Ours is just slightly grouchier than your average grouch.
 So, there was Joe the Grouch coming down the road. He saw our cows, screamed, and then veered into the ditch. The cows must’ve been scared of him (who wouldn’t be?), because they turned around and started heading back towards us Dunwells. Rupert starting yelling about how we were all going to get “creamed”, Dad tried to calm him down, and the rest of us…well, we just went along with the chaos. In the end, we were bruised, dusty, I had a newfound hatred of cows, and Joe was threatening to sue our family for disturbing the peace, but…THE COWS WERE BACK IN THE FENCE. And that’s what mattered. Now, I’m going to go pass out in my room. Don’t mind me!