Late-night panic for no good reason

Whew!  After posting that last message, where I described a few "situations" that are somewhere on the priority list but where the feeling is that it will all be managed in good time, I guess my mind went a little haywire.  About 2 in the morning, I felt a rising sense of panic as I contemplated the quickly growing piglets and the damage they could do if not in their permanent pen.....SOON!   Contemplated is too tame of a word.  This was my brain in overdrive, throwing all kinds of extreme scenarios at me with the underlying message:  "You've failed again.  You're not equipped for this.  You took on more than you can handle.  Everything is destined to fail." I had to wake Jeff up because I was still tossing and turning an hour later, and yes, it DID help immensely to talk it through with my sleepy husband.  He was very good about not joining in on the mental anguish and hand-wringing that my brain would NOT quit throwing in my direction....... Panic issue/resolution #1:  The pigs will move to the renovated/updated cow shelter this weekend.  Michael and Jeff will work on the permanent pig pen this weekend or later in June.  It's debatable:  Should we borrow a friend's trailer again and go back to the farm store for more 16 foot long hog panels (strong galvanized fence sections) or should we build the permanent pig pen out of cinder blocks.  Either way, it will need to be on the cement apron to the south of the barn, both for discouraging the digging that pigs will do, and for keeping the pig-smell from wafting directly towards our house! Panic issue/resolution #2:  That leaves the sheep still in their small enclosure in the barn.  They will move to the cow shelter after the pigs root through the winter's accumulation of hay and "other stuff", then we can shovel it out and make it fresh again for the sheep.  The sheep will get the back half of the shelter, with a small partition that only sheep can fit through.  The cows will still be able to take shelter in the front half, but the sheeps' quarters will allow Iris and April to escape the cows when they need/want to and have a cozier area for when they don't want to socialize with larger beasts. Panic topic/resolution #3:  The turkeys and the lack of a "wall" to keep them out of the bunny area in the blue shed.  A non-issue, really, but in light of the avalanche of false messages in the dark of night, it seemed insurmountable along with everything else. Panic issue/resolution #4:  The cats and the new ducklings upstairs.  So far the cats have not tried to get into the Rubbermaid tub with the ducklings, but I will set up a guinea pig cage instead, which the cat's can't jump into. Panic issue #5:  No resolution yet.  What if....we get to the end of our hay supply (it will be soon!) and the rains have made it so wet that no new hay can be harvested.  Looks less terrifying in the light of day.  But I have 3 hay farmers who know that we're willing to pick up hay straight out of the fields and to our barn, which is a plus (this means that the farmer only has to cut it and bale it, and the customer takes it so that the farmer doesn't need to also haul it, unload it, and then load it into a later customer's hay wagon.....) Lots of other panicky thoughts just kept rising to the surface, keeping me awake.  It doesn't happen very often, and when it does, usually I can force myself to stay calm and not have my heart racing or my thought-process run wild. Thanks, Jeff, for hearing all of my unfounded fears in the dark of night and for waking up in order to let me calm down! Thanks, everyone reading this, for letting me type it all out and process the craziness of all those dark, gloomy doubts even further. This morning:  The chickens were scratching in the hay on the floor of the barn, waiting impatiently to lay their eggs and make a mad dash to get outside. The pigs were where they were supposed to be--in their small enclosure, turning in circles of excitement as the chickens rushed past to get outside.  And plopping down on their rumps when I reached in to scratch behind their ears.  And noisily fighting and squealing over the broken egg that I put in for them.  And acting like pigs in general, with no plan to get out and wreak havoc. The sheep were waiting expectantly to be scratched under the chin, and to eat their grain from my hand, and get a section of hay to start their day.   The geese were fiercely guarding their nest of eggs (again, with TWO mommas taking turns on the double-nest and the male extending his neck and hissing at any bird or beast who came too close!) Cows were waiting patiently to munch their grain, Bessie was in the stanchion ready to be milked, and both cows simply seemed bored to have me shovel away the many and huge ploppers they'd done in the barn during the night. And yet another duckling is hatching in the incubator. All's right with the world, at least in our little corner of it, no thanks to the run-away thought-process of the night before! Laura http://dykstrasfarm.blogspot.com/