People that know me well have been trying to get me to blog for a long time. I am not really sure if they think what I have to say is funny, real or just plain good to hear. This I know, I look at life as an absolute learning process. I can not remember how it began, but I know it is non ending. No matter how old you are, we are all learning. And we all have special God given talents that we should be fostering, developing and using. Now, learning comes with a price . . . sometimes it hurts, can be embarrassing and cause you to trip and stumble. But learning is also invigorating, empowering and can give you the confidence to move forward and move on. So, I suggest we laugh at it, welcome it and accept that the more mistakes we make, the more we learn. As our wise elders have always said; “You learn more from your mistakes than your success. And if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger”. As a conscious life long learner, I accept life with all of it’s humor and I view it with humor.
I also am a city girl turned country. Raised with small animals, going to the YMCA after school and running through neighborhoods with my friends, I didn’t get much hands on exposure to the land, it’s gifts and the animals that feed the world. But, I did watch National Geographic constantly, so I learned. The few times I rode a horse, I usually could count on coming off the back end somehow. My fear transfered right into any horses head I happen to be sitting on top of, if only for a moment. But, when I married my husband and became a part of his family, and I learned there was another way to live. In our family we have horses for the girls and horse power for the guys. As with some kids that grow up with horses, as they get older the guys seem to gravitate towards horse power. After years of getting up early to feed and spending weekends cleaning up horse poop, my husband decided he liked horse power more. You can turn if off and put it away. And so, in our family we have it all. Horses and horse power. We girls want to be on the back of a horse. The guys want their horses in cylinders. Motorcycles, ranger riding and more.
Our children have grown up raising pigs and sheep for market and we have had horses for years now. We ride, we play and we share with others. I love bringing other women up to our place to take them up to the hills on horseback. There is something about being on the back of a horse and going up a good ole’ winding trail, getting to the top and then turning around to see the houses and roads below. Looking over one hill and another to see how the valleys fit together and realizing our land is great and God given. Now, I want to keep sharing. Through my daughter’s lead (she has been an inspiration to me since she was born, and against some difficult odds at birth, has survived and flourished) I agree that we need to bring the rural and urban lifestyles together, in sync, to keep this great country and it’s land alive and flourishing. I am motivated by our kids and my son also inspires me to accept that good and bad come together and to know that it is what you make of it that counts.
So, this is a little about my overview of life. A small portion of it. I know that strong character is what makes a person. I believe it was Eleanor Roosevelt that said; “It is not who you are when people are looking that matters, but who you are when no one is around”, and I have taught my children from the great quotes of our country’s leaders. But, do not let this lead you astray in what you think of me. I am an out-of-the-box thinker and doer. I do not mind going against the tide (I also admire Warren Buffet), standing up for positive change and I also am known to sacrifice so much that I end up under the bus occasionally (which just makes me stronger). I believe challenges test us, and give us opportunity to raise up and influence the world. I know great things come after conflict and that if in the beginning we are adversaries, sometimes we end up best friends once we learn to communicate.
Since I was little I have wanted to change the world and help others. I have spent most of my life doing just that. And here, on the internet I can reach the world, one person at a time, every second of the day. So, thank you for following me, reading my silly little blogs and sharing your thoughts too. Through blogging, I open a door to hear from you, and learn even more. I have the utmost respect for others, whether we agree or disagree, because from each other we can learn, and one can never learn enough!
