Are You Makin' A Livin' or Livin' A Dream?

 

I’ve never considered myself lucky.  

I‘ve never really given any thought to whether other people love their job.

I can’t imagine being one of those people that prays a snowstorm hits, so I don’t have to go to work and can be stuck in the house.

I get to go to work every day and I LOVE it.  I get to work with the love of my life every single day and (most) days love that, too.  Yes, I even GOT to get up at 3:30 am to check on a newborn calf that my husband delivered 30 minutes earlier.  Raising livestock is a labor of love not something you want to feel like you HAVE to go do.

Don’t get me wrong some days are harder than others, but I get to work in what I consider the best job in the world.  I have a friend that is a hair stylist and she thinks she has the best job in the world making women beautiful and helping them feel wonderful about themselves.  The two of us have talked about this before: we don’t understand how people go to work every day and not even like what they do.  My goal in life is to encourage my kids to try enough things that they find what they truly LOVE. 

 

My brother is an agriculture economist.  I know what most of you are thinking “A what?”  He works with numbers and spreadsheets.  He actually analyzes the numbers in the government reports and understands them.  He LOVES his job.  I would HATE his job.  I do not want to be in an office in front of a computer.  I do not like to fly to business meetings and conferences every other week, but I don’t have my brother’s job and I am glad he has found something he enjoys, even though we don’t get to see him as often as we would like.

 

If you have young people or adults in your life that pray for those days when they don’t have to go to work, I challenge you to help them to find their passion…encourage them to try new things and step out of what they know.  Help them live a life in which their “Vocation is a Vacation.”

I don’t care if my kids make a million dollars, but I have found that people who love their job are better at it and more successful than those who are just punching a time card.  This is my advice to kids trying to find their place in the world in a quote from Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive.  And go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Chris LeDoux also said, “While some folks are makin’ a livin’ others are livin’ their dreams.”  Which do you want your kids to be?  Which one are you?

 

If you like these quotes you will love the Facebook page called The Farm Theory put together by a group of students at Oklahoma State University.

A special thanks to Larry and Rudy for their posts and a couple of FFA kids spending time with me that really made me think about how lucky I am to be Living My Dream.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

What is Worth the Fight in Your Life?

My love of Red Dirt music goes back to my college days at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK.  No, I wasn't there in the glory years of Garth Brooks, Barry Sanders or even when the basketball team won. 

Listening to good Red Dirt music was about the best entertainment on a Saturday night in Stillwater.  It seemed as I moved back to Kansas the Red Dirt music followed me to our local radio stations and concert venues.  Maybe that was due to some of my friends moving back to the area that became good friends with those playing Red Dirt music.  

I have been a fan of Cross Canadian Ragweed for years and did not realize that they had disbanded, BUT the good news is that some have regrouped as Cody Canada and the Departed.  Their new single was released yesterday and they would love it if you would listen to Worth the Fight.  

What did you think?  Are there things in your life Worth the Fight?

As most of you know that follow my blog, my husband and I truly believe that farming is Worth The Fight.  But what do we as farmers fight?

• ·         Mother Nature:

o   Drought- no rain equals no crops and no grass or water for the cattle on our farm.

o   Freezing Temperatures-baby calves born when it is too cold outside have a brutal welcome to the world.  The mama cows have a hard time staying warm themselves and eating enough to not lose weight.

o   Floods-yes, rain is a good thing, but too much is not what any farmer wants to see.

o   Drought (yes I know I listed it twice.)-the heat of a drought can make crops disappear before your eyes.

• ·         Not enough hours of daylight-often the things we do are so time sensitive.  When dealing with living things it seems that every task needs done yesterday.

• ·         Extremist groups- that feed the public with misinformation.  This is the hardest fight today for many of us.  We have family members and friends asking us if the things they hear are true.  Some days it is hard to believe what others will say to hurt your way of life.

AND WHY DO WE DO WHAT IS “FAR FROM EASY, WORTH THE FIGHT?”

Our fight for you protects our way of life, our family.  Someone once said that farming is what we do, it is who we are.  We want our kids to grow up, learn the value of hard work and to be in touch with nature everyday.  And now you are saying to yourself, that is just great, Nicole, but what does your fight have to do with me.

Fighting for American Agriculture helps protect YOUR:

•          Country-A country that produces its own food in abundance is a secure nation with happy citizens.

• ·         Food Safety- We are home to the safest food supply in the world.

• ·         Abundant Food- We are home to the most abundant and most affordable food in the world as well.

What is Worth the Fight in your life?

My Family is Worth the Fight.

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Thank you to Dairy Carrie for giving the Ag Community the idea to use this song as a blog post.