Milk maids have been a motif in art for centuries, reaching a status normally reserved for unicorns and other mythical beings. They were used to show health and beauty and wholesomeness, which is probably why they are the first human in the song. Some people theorize that it’s a transference of the purity of the milk onto the gatherer. Others argue that it’s because milk maids weren’t ravaged by the pox diseases that afflicted the rest of the population, a feat almost magical when observed at the time, but has since revolutionized our world.

Everyone who worked closely with cows understood that if they had caught the mild cow pox, they would not need to fear small pox outbreaks. Eventually, Western doctors caught on as well, and vaccines became available (vaccine after the Latin for cow).

On the sixth day, I thought about defenses and how they can hurt us instead of helping us. Today, I am thinking of inoculations against bad habits and that old saw ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.

It’s easy to put things off until they become urgent, or a ‘fire’ that needs immediate attention. It’s easy to see a rotting porch stair and use it daily thinking ‘that’s going to need to be replaced’ and not actually do anything until it finally breaks and you have no choice but to fix it right away. Or to ignore a car trouble because you don’t have the time or money at the moment, so you end up stranded with more time and money issues than if you had scheduled an appointment. We can ‘vaccinate’ against these issues by recognizing them and doing the small thing we want to avoid now when we can  to avoid being forced to do the large thing at it’s chosen time later.

So, when I think of milk maids milking, I will think of those annoying things I could put off until I have no choice, and see if I can stop avoiding them and fit them in now.

Back to introduction.
Forward to Nine.

Note Bene: The Chinese have a published report from 1549 mentioning that they had discovered a small pox vaccination. It was common practice in the Middle East as well. Neither mentions milk maids.