Right off the bat, I’ll admit I have a little trouble with long-term commitments. And when I say long-term, I’m talking anything over five or six months.

In relationships, the honeymoon is definitely over by month five. That’s usually when the top of your partner’s head opens up and the snakes crawl out. Little behaviors that you once thought were amusing or quirky have now become downright annoying.

I’ve wanted to tour Italy for decades, but the necessity of making reservations six or nine months ahead stops me cold. There’s always so much that could happen between the down payment and the time to board the plane. Like maybe I’m not seeing the same person I was planning to travel with!

So it totally shocked me when a friend of mine in Idaho bought half a live cow, partnering with a female friend of his. The cow is being raised organically and will be butchered late this fall. They plan to split the beef 50/50. But late fall is months from now!

What if these two people aren’t still friends by then? What if they’re not even speaking? What if one of them wants out of the deal? What if one of them is seeing someone who resents their former friendship? What if one accuses the other of taking more than their fair share of the meat? What if one of them, heaven forbid, goes vegetarian?

Obviously, I’m not ready to share a cow. But I do have pictures of Italy posted all over my office. Maybe next year will be the year…