This Year's Baby Lamb
20 years of hugging lambs, 20 lamb huggers
I hugged my first baby lamb in the spring of 2002––that’s right, TWENTY YEARS ago. As you may well know, an annual lamb cuddle has since become a rite of Spring for me. To celebrate this milestone, I returned to some of the lands where I’ve cuddled wee ones over the years, making it a multi-farm, multi-lamb hugging tour.
I had a goal: cuddle lambs with 20 people––those who had previously shared the pleasure with me and new recruits. While you would normally have received this email in a seasonably appropriate Spring month, until a few days ago, I was still two lamb-huggers shy of my goal and too stubborn to admit defeat. A surprise November lamb in 2020 left me with hope, but a call to that farmer brought news that no new lambs joined the troop this year. So, imagine my delight when I spied in the vineyards I pass on my way to my studio every morning, a herd of sheep including a few young ones.
A few phone calls later, it turns out that I had hugged a lamb with this farmer in 2016. As kind and generous now as he was then, he asked, “Is today too soon?” The universe was smiling upon me, but this 11th hour save at the end of the 11th month would only be possible with two friends willing to drop everything to come hug a lamb. I am fortunate to count Charlaine and Corina as fun-loving, supportive, up-for-anything kind of friends. A heartfelt thank you to them and to Barbara, Jo, Dorian, Rosie, Gloria, Jowa, Henry, Gabriel, Norah, Bridget, Alina, Suhail, Alexis, Raphael, Hugo, Emanuel, Justine, and Natalia for sharing the simple joy of holding a lamb with me and helping me to achieve my 20th anniversary dream.
I am always on the lookout for new places to hug baby lambs and ALWAYS happy to share this joy with loved ones––and I will travel for it. So, as you make your way through the world, keep an eye out for lambs. Perhaps we can hug one together some day.
In the meantime, wishing you and yours simple joys and the time to appreciate them.
ElizaBeth
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