How do you see the world? How do you see everything in it? Have you fallen in love with your high school crush after failing with every 'better' guy you have tried to find along the way? Do you still call home as much as possible because your family is the most important thing in the world to you? Are your neighbors people you know and trust? Are you thankful for the experiences you have?
I am thankful to know the people who live near me, I am thankful for getting to know them. I am thankful that I grew up working for what I wanted in life, I am glad handouts were discouraged, if you want it you have to make an effort. I am thankful to have grown up knowing 1,000 odd things as a result of family businesses, family friends, and experiences I have acquired that are unique only to me and my family. I don't have the experiences of walking to a friends house, or playing basketball in the streets in the summer, but if you do, you don't share my experiences who have made me who I am today.
I go to a private college which costs a fortune. Everyone assumes in order to be here your family must be well off to begin with, no my family fights tooth and nail to be able to get through today, but I would not be the person I am today without that experience which has made me 10 times more accepting of other situations. I strongly believe most people complaining how they can't find work or get ahead are afraid to get their hands dirty. I don't like being dirty, but I have no problem getting dirty. I will shower later.
I have grown up on and around farms my entire life, I quickly was taught not to run in a barn, and to watch where I stand behind a cow. I quickly learned to get anything done, you are going to get dirty. I learned to get a calf to drink you have to shove it's head in a bucket, and I learned the birds and the bees through the animals too. I also learned where milk, meat, cheese and ice cream came from. I learned that hay doesn't come out of the sky, and it takes a ton of work to get it done, and a close knit community when something happens. Your friends come out of the woodwork to help in a tough time, and I have thrown hay in more peoples barns than I can count.
My Dad has been a farrier since he was in the Army before I was born. He doesn't do much of it now, but as a result I learned that not everyone who has animals are smart enough to take care of them. I learned how to hold a horse who is trying to kill me to get away, I learned to not be afraid of anything. I learned that when you get knocked down you get back up. I learned that it is once again impossible to stay clean and you will get dirt and poop on you. It's a fact. I learned that donkeys are stupid, as are cows, and donkeys have a very unique smell to them, it's gross.
We have raised chickens, ducks, turkeys, and once I even caught a peacock who was lost and hanging out in my pasture. I learned weasels will eat anything in the world, and that we lost a ton of chicks to them over the years. I learned a snake will steal the eggs out of the coop, and I learned that sometimes chickens will overwhelm you with eggs and how to cook them in 1,000 ways to get rid of them. A homemade angel food cake takes 12 eggs.
No comments:
Post a Comment