My Roots

Like I said before, I am currently working on my Master’s Degree at Texas Tech… trying to stay grounded in Lubbock, Texas amidst the extremely dry and windy days.  Before I moved to Lubbock I heard that I would experience mud blowing in the wind.  Considering there has not been a real rain for about 10 months, I have just been sand blasted a couple of times (who needs to pay for exfoliants), caught in a couple of dust storms, and realize the need to invest in stocks for heavy duty Lubriderm lotion and hair conditioner!!  Needless to say, I realize how much I took the rain for granted in God’s Country aka Roachdale, IN! Gone are the days of green grass and the creeks I played in as a little girl.  I thank God for this opportunity to pursue further education, but pray even more so for rain.

HOME

Texas a few months ago

Enough about the here and now… I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you why I am who I am.

I was born and raised on a purebred shorthorn cattle farm and spent my summer days outside either riding my bike in our driveway (heaven forbid I ever crossed the neon spray painted line in our driveway that was 20 yards from the highway), playing or torturing my brother by singing to 95.5 WFMS country music in the barn, making up dance routines to Shania Twain “Man I Feel Like a Woman” with my twin sister, or making homemade ice cream post bailing hay on the hottest days of the summer!

I remember the day when, with the help of Kristen (my twin) we were able to lift a bail of hay together and place it next to the other bails on the wagon… BIG mistake, from that day forward if there was a chance to bail hay we knew to have our blue jeans and gloves handy otherwise we would be chucking hay against bare legs… lesson learned the hard way!

 

 I cannot imagine growing up any other way than on the farm and will always appreciate the work ethic that my parents instilled in me.  Trust me, you have some really good stories  to share after growing up with experiences like riding a crazy hog and spending your summer days at cattle shows with the future of agriculture.

Our family vacations were cattle shows and it was not until college that I ever was able to go on “vacation”.  Let’s just say I quickly realized on that “vacation” that I did not know how to relax and it was almost downright miserable.  Since then, I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel the world and discover agriculture in various cultures.

Pineapple plantation in Costa Rica

While I could go on and on I will leave some stories for later posts, but in the meantime I will be thinking about my trip back home to my roots in August when I will help celebrate my grandparent’s 70th wedding anniversary (YES no typo, truly an inspiration for me because 70 years is a LONG time)!

Missing County Fairs in Indiana for the first time in my life!