Ruin

He used to visit the ranch all Saturday afternoons. 


He followed closely the development of his cattle. In just over six months he could begin the slaughter of a first batch of cows.  

In the shop, while he worked in customer service and learned quickly to advise them about the most appropriate use of products for their pets, his cousin was responsible for business with suppliers.  

Once, the cousin called him aside and spoke quietly.  

"We need to expand the store. I talked to the bank manager, and he can lend me money, but I must give him a good guarantee."  

Maybe because of his inexperience, naivete, trust or gratitude, who knows, he undertook his cattle on loan to the prime.  

What he saw in the next months was not the investment in the store, but meetings and more meetings to negotiate debts with suppliers, without success. 


The store went bankrupt shortly thereafter, and the bank got hold of his cattle in the adjustment of the amount loaned to his cousin.  

Nothing and no one could comfort him for many long sleepless nights... 


His faith was the only column that supported him, and his responsibility to caring for his family the only reason he woul not to give up living.

Dressmaking

Now, they had two boys and two girls. 


At first, Grandma took care of the minors, so the mother could give her lessons at the School. 


Grandma was a wrinkled, squat and lean, soft-spoken lady. She loved meeting the obsessions of her grandchildren, filling them with gimmicks. 


She used to take their breakfast in bed: a giant cup containing bread dipped in sweet latte that needed to be "taken" with a spoon.



But Grandma had to move to Rio de Janeiro, at the request of their unmarried sons who worked there. She would take care of their house, clothes and meals with zeal and dedication.



The mother, then, ended her "career" as a teacher and started to devote full time to home and family. 


In addition to caring for four children, she found time and strength to cultivate a small vegetable garden behind the house. 


But she wanted more. She needed to help support their house, some how.



So, she decided to learn dressmaking. Soon, she was receiving orders for dresses, pants, skirts, shirts and making a good buck this way. She spent many hours working, often advancing dawn to deliver the clothes on time.



Her children wore their homemade confections, and the girls ended up always using the same dresses as if they were twins.

Change

He really enjoyed seeing the white cattle grazing on the hill! 


In his heart hope of better days kept growing. 


His wife was now in her fifth pregnancy, and going very well, despite her belly a little bit bigger than usual.



She kept her teachings at the school, but her oldest boy stopped going there with her. He had completed fourth grade, the highest level possible to achieve in that school.



Despite feeling happy now with the life at the ranch, the father did not hesitate.



"We need to move to the city, I want our son to have the education that I could not have." He said.



It was a big change for them all. The house they rented was on a steep street, almost hamlet on a hill, and it had a huge staircase in front. 


The father had to hire a foreman to look after the cattle and began working at a shop of veterinarian products, at the invitation of a cousin. 


The mother continued to teach until the eve of their second girl's birth. 


The small grandmother moved to live with the family and take care of their two children at home, while the older boy went to the fifth grade.



People use to say that children adapt easily to any circumstance, but the two boys really missed the great backyard and adventures at the ranch. 


The way they found to relieve it, was making friends with the boys of the neighborhood, as quickly as possible.  


Soon enough, they learned with them how to hit a ball and ride a roller cart down the street (which was really a challenge and joy!)

Tenth

After his marriage, since the first week, he began to attent regularly the Presbyterian worship. Soon he was appointed teacher in Sunday school. 


Although his little education, he had an oratory and teaching that  astonished all students, even the most literate. He could not explain how that was possible!


She listened to him, amazed and full of gratitude. After all, since she was a little girl she learned from her mother to ask God for a hardworking, honest and, above all, God fearing husband.



So during the week he helped his old father, later he sold milk, but on Sundays he always carried his wife and children to church, and applied in his Bible classes. 


Once upon a time, he learned about tithing and decided to prove God.



"Bring the whole tithe to the filing of the temple, so there is food in my house. Put me to the test, 'says the Lord Almighty,' and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not be able to save them all" .

Of all the income they received, they separated one-tenth to donate to the church. To do so was not a burden to them, rather an exercise of faith and worship to God.



When their luck began to change, he opened his Bible at the text of the prophet Malachi and wrote next to that: "Proven."

Zebu

They owned twelve friesian cows, a species not well known in that region. Those cows were spoken (and well spoken) in the town since they produced three times more milk than a common herd. 


Because of this, the father received an unexpected visit at his ranch. The richest farmer in that region, sitting in their humble kitchen with a mug of freshly brewed coffee in hand. He was determined to negotiate.



"I want those cows you own. Make your price."



The father preferred to think before closing any deal. He knew his production was causing astonishment and admiration, but only realized how much after that visit. To him remained no doubt, however, that all of this was God's hand. What to do now?



After some calculations, he set a price well above the reasonable, even for a wealthy farmer. He was  determined to negotiate not a penny less than the value set in his mind. Only then, he would have the security in his heart that he was doing the right thing, if the deal should be closed.



"Done. This afternoon I will come with my employees to get them."



He had never put hands in so much money in his life! 


The next day, he went early to the city without really knowing what to do after this. He thanked God for the blessing received and sat on a park's bench to pray and think. Some hours later, he made a decision.



His wife spent the day anxiously. Their lives depended on milk sales and now they threw themselves into the unknown. It was late afternoon and no sign of her husband. She decided to wait for him near the gate of the ranch, then.



The sun was almost gone on the horizon when she finally saw the dust rising from the road. To her surprise, he came slowly, bringing a cow tied to their jeep.



"What's that, honey?" What did you do? "



"I paid all our debts, honey"



"And you brought this cow?"



"Yes, I bought her with the money that was left."



She could not hide a certain disappointment in her eyes:


"He sold our twelve cows to buy one?" She thought, worried.



"This is a Zebu cow, dear, for beef cattle. The first of a herd of thirty-two that we now have!

Life and Death

She was a girl, healthy, chubby and pale. Soon, her dark hair gave way to the blond and her eyes were becoming increasingly blue, as she grew.



"I think she inherited the German blood in the family" The mother explained all the time.



For her, caring a girl was different and rewarding. Laces, ribbons, dresses, what a joy to garnish a baby!



Besides the little girl, the cottage now also housed the mom's parents. 


The maternal grandfather needed special care after the stroke he had suffered. He did not move well and had some cognitive impairment. 


Still, when the blonde baby would fall asleep in the crib, he used to stand beside and watch her for hours, as observing an angel.



He had not a long life, leaving a widow grandmother (she was only five feet) and two sons still single, who soon departed for Rio de Janeiro in search of better luck.

Enciente

The recess lasted 20 minutes and was eagerly awaited. While the children went to the courtyard to play a little, she checked each one's notebooks and wrote praises in all homeworks. In those very well done, she used to draw a star with a red pen besides the word "excellent."

The children started screaming and suddenly gathered in the courtyard. A fight was going on. She ran to separate the troublemakers and to her amazement (and why not say, disappointment) her oldest son was involved in the feud.

After calming the students and putting them back in their wallets, she drew aside the bickering boys, with a fierce look to her own boy, as they left the room.

"I punched him, yes" he replied, resolutely.

"Why, son?" You've never been friend of fights! "

The son's face turned red, and he took several seconds before replying her, head down;

"He called you "enciente". I told him to stop talking like that, but he kept repeating it over and over... So I punched him."

She had become pregnant again in that early winter, and her belly grew disguised under heavy clothing. At that time, it was not common for parents to talk to their kids about some intimate issues, and their kids had no idea they would have another baby in the family in about four months.

"You thought your friend was saying something ugly about your mother? Come on, put your hand on my belly. You know what it means "enciente" in French? It Means "pregnant". See, I have a baby in my belly. "

At that very moment he felt her stomach squirming, and laugh out loud. Then, she spoke to him softly:

"What do you think? Is it a boy or girl, this time?"

Scare

Winter had arrived, and to wake the boys up was getting more and more difficult. But, she didn't pay too much attention to their tantrums and hurried them, so they were set always on time. 


The oldest had to go with her to the school, and the younger with the father to the milk deliveries.

"Bro" (abbreviation of little brother, nickname given by the oldest) loved to hold the liters of milk that the father carefully filled up, and to place them at the doors steps.

They were still half away from the whole day's delivery. The father asked his son to take a liter to a house across the street. Obediently, the boy got out the jeep and started going to the house. 


In fraction of seconds, another jeep appears from nowhere.  It was a police officer automobile, and it ran over the lad. The father only heard the loud and short noise of the car impact! 


But, before he could despair, he saw " Bro" standing up of the ground... He was holding the liter of milk with all his strength, smiling at the victory of not having let it be broken.

The policeman asked them thousand excuses, raising his hands to the sky praising the Lord that the boy hadn't had a single scratch.

The father taught his son about looking at the two sides before crossing a street, but first he hugged him for a long time.

Only after the policeman had gone away, the father whispered to " Bro ":

" We are going to tell mom about this, only tomorrow, ok? "

Substitute

One day, the oldest son arrived at home earlier. The teacher had not been going to give classroom, and the school, so tiny and precarious it was, had not a substitute teacher. And that happened again and again.

The mother went there to know what was going on, and she offered herself to help. She had studied and completed Junior High, and for those children it was more than enough.

The oldest son was very confused, he couldn't figure out if he should call her mom or teacher. But, he was actually a little bit proud to find out that his mother was so clever.

When teacher Woetoo returned, after almost a month of license, she found her students doing very well in all matters. So, she talked to the principal and handed over her class to the new teacher.

The mother's routine changed completely. She had to get up earlier to arrive on time at the school, and before that, she had to help milking the cows, prepare coffee, bridle the horse in the cart and wrap the youngest son up to leave him at the grandfather's home. Then, she would teach up to the eleven o'clock and return to the ranch with the oldest son, helping him at the way back home with some math lessons.

Afterwards, she would begin her second journey: to heat the food up, to put the kitchen in order, to wash and to iron the clothes, to prepare the classroom for the next day, to watch over the boys in the back yard, to do the dinner, to prepare the boy's bath, to set them in bed and to pray with them.

The spare time, she would share it between her husband's needs and her devotion to God. From this last one she got her strength and would never give up.