Hold Them & Show Them

With the news today and the issues in our community and country it’s no wonder that many parents go to sleep at night thinking of their children’s safety and future – some of us may even hold on too tight or too long that we don’t even make it to our own beds before we fall asleep.

However, there is a lesson to be learned from letting go and letting them learn as they navigate through this world and this life.

I attended a breakfast with one of our elected officials last year on the campaign trail while he was home from D.C.  We were talking about differences in cities and towns around the state and the vast differences in our own communities.  He said something that has stayed with me and I think of often – we built secluded neighborhoods where the houses looked similar and the families led similar lives.  We stopped living next to and learning from people who are different than ourselves therefore making us more secluded from an array of diverse people, backgrounds, issues and opinions.  

I am fully under the belief that creating deep roots for a child only helps them in developing who they are and who they will become.  However, some parents don’t let their child’s roots grow beyond a seedling that may never grow to see beyond the ground they are standing on.

Creating deep roots for a child to learn about their heritage and where they come from doesn’t need to take away their ability to grow wings, learn from someone different than themselves and flourish.  I was raised to appreciate my family’s history and hard work and to always remember where I came from when I got to where I was going.  However, I was told to learn and appreciate from others – no matter how different – while I was developing myself and working hard in my career.  

I feel very fortunate that I live in a community that exposes me to different cultures and am excited to raise my daughter in a community that embraces diversity.  While we have plans to travel with our children around the world and teach them about different cultures, we are also excited to come home to the cows and corn fields.  People think it’s crazy when I tell them we want to travel (especially with our kids) and immerse ourselves in different cultures, but we learn so much about ourselves and others when we do.  I hope you embrace where you come from but seek to learn what else is out there beyond the ground you are standing on.  

Our daughter may not want to travel and see the world like we do – she may be perfectly happy with her deep roots on the farm.  But at least she will have been given the opportunity to make that decision and understand how others think, work and live.  I would rather hold her tight while I show her the world rather than hold her tight and keep her from it.  

Summer Vacation Lesson from the Farmer

 Summer is here which means family vacations for some of us and 4H projects for others.  If you were blessed to take a summer vacation and have 4-H projects, consider yourself lucky.  Free time on the farm doesn’t come around for some of our farmers or their families which means no vacation time.  However, staying home and learning about the various lessons from your 4-H projects can be an adventure as well.       

As a kid, we camped a lot with our friends around the state but didn’t take too many long summer vacations.  My mom would take us on our fancy trip to Chicago, “the big city”, to shop while the farmer stayed home for the harvest.  I am sure he was just fine staying home and away from the city and our shopping shenanigans, so it all worked out. 

The one time he went with us on a Spring Break trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama, I never really wanted to vacation with him again.  I was in the 5^th grade and we were going with a big group of people to experience new adventures and to relax on the beach.  However, if you know farmers, they can’t really sit still. 

I was elated to stay in a condo with a view of the beach and surrounded by the noise of the big, blue waves.  However, the farmer had something else in mind for us on vacation.  We had to see the army bases and battleships.  It was not an experience this Midwestern farm girl that lived between the cows was expecting to have on her “vacation” to the beach. 

We even had to cut our trip short and head back to Indiana because my farmer dad noticed the corn sprouting from the fields in Alabama.  He got antsy, couldn’t sit still and had to get home to start planting.  I think I even started my 4-H projects earlier that year too. 

As time has gone on and I have traveled around the world, I think about that summer vacation and the time we spent learning about the history of our country and those that served on the battlefield.  I now understand that dad took us on adventures through the battleships to teach us something and why we were able to enjoy our vacations.  He taught us that it’s okay to sit on the beach and relax for a short time, but vacations should include life lessons just like those 4-H projects left behind to finish.  Even though I was mad we came home early, I think I earned more blue ribbons that year—lesson learned.

So take that summer vacation to sit still and relax for a moment!  But remember to learn a lesson or two while you are away from the farm or your home.  Enjoy that freedom to travel and be adventurous and give thanks for the lessons they teach you, maybe you’ll get a blue ribbon too.

Celebrating New Adventures at Home

When the older and wiser tell you "time flies", you should listen.

Just yesterday, my best friend Amy and I were shopping for wedding rings together. 

Then engaged withing weeks of each other.

Then married. 

And now....we are showering her and her baby with gifts of love.  

Time flies....so we must celebrate all the wonderful and generous gifts we are given 

including babies that will soon join us on this adventure called life.

Amy is the dearest of friends with lots of passion for life and love for others so we decided to go all out for Amy as she embarks on this new adventure with Baby B.  

This shower is a trip around the world, in my parents' basement 

where many of our adventures as young adults began........

My sister, mom and I have a love for antiques so we used them throughout the shower 

to show that the past can be a part of the future.

Amy and her husband, Marc, traveled to Ireland last fall and it was a trip of a lifetime.  Amy told me there was seafood chowder everywhere they visited so I made some in honor of their adventure across the pond.

Amy and our girlfriends love Mexican food, especially homemade guacamole 

so a little Mexican flare was on the menu.

And we tasted a little bit of America in the mac 'n' cheese bites!

While enjoying the food, why not enjoy lots of champagne to celebrate Baby B and Amy too!

Many of us have a little German in us so why not have few German Dip Rye Bites?

Our salad came from Greece, very tasty!

And we all love pasta....

Many of our friends studied Spanish so we have to honor Spain with some cheese and the meat.

Even though we were in Indiana, the girls loved traveling around the world via the food.

And because you can't travel without several modes of transportation, my mom made cookies to reflect how we would travel around the world.

And Amy always requests my mom's Sweet & Salty Chocolate Pizzazz!  A little piece of heaven!

These are mini pineapple upside down cakes which fit perfectly on my sister's favorite dishware, jadite.

We asked each guest to bring a postcard of their favorite place to visit and to write 

a note to Baby B on why he/she should visit as well.

What we hope for Baby B, and for Amy, is that they enjoy every adventure life brings in this world.

But we want Baby B to always remember that Indiana is home and he/she is always rooted, always based at home.

As the shower wrapped, Marc came to collect the gifts and was treated like a king with a beer in a frozen mug, warm soup and service from the ladies.

Thanks to Amy for our wonderful friendship and for letting us host an adventurous baby shower!

On to planning our next adventure for her and Baby B!

The Beauty of the Hunt

The farmer and I took a mini "Glick Trip" this past weekend to Arkansas.  

I have never been to Arkansas, but I now have an itch to go back.  

One for the hunting, two for the new friends and three for the best pork steak we devoured at Strawberry's in Holcomb, AR.

We rolled in to Rector, Arkansas after 11:00 p.m. on Thursday and met our new friend and hunting guide Stephen who owns and runs Liberty Hills Outfitters.  Rector is home to not quite 2,000 people and most recently the boys basketball champs of the homecoming game Saturday night.  On top of that, Stephen's kids were crowned King & Queen during homecoming.  Small town America, it's wonderful.  

Stephen complimented my gravel road truck driving, showed us around the cabin and told us to make ourselves at home.  It was good to crash in this private, friendly cabin and hideaway at the end of the gravel road.

The next morning, we were up and out the door for the first day of quail hunting on the land.

 I got the first bird of the day!

Then the boys stuffed it into the back of my vest.  

I think Brett purposely bought the vest for me so I could carry all the birds.  

He has no pockets in his vest......

Don't worry, one of them was still alive and was fluttering around back there for awhile.  Yep....

Lady (foreground) and George were our dogs for the weekend.  

Watching the dogs hunt is quite the experience and part of the beauty of the hunt.

Stephen loves to take photos, like myself.  He captured some great moments including this one with the yellow shell falling to the ground after I pumped my gun to take another shot at the bird.  

Stephen actually took all the photos on this blog today.  Many thanks to him for capturing the beauty of the outdoors and our upland bird hunting experience.

What I really love about upland bird hunting is that we get to enjoy the sport together.  

And stand next to each other while we each take our shot at the bird.

George obviously had confidence we would get this one because he was already headed to retrieve the quail.

And if you were wondering what a quail looks like, here you go.  They are tricky to find at times.

Now while Stephen was busy taking pictures most of the time, Gerald was guiding us and ducking every other time.  Both of them would say they have had a lot of practice hittin' the ground and takin' cover.  

Joking aside, we always use safety precautions when hunting, 

review rules before hunting and watch each others' backs.

The dogs also watch each others' backs and back each other on their points (when they find the bird).  

What's fascinating about the dogs is that they compete with each other and keep each other in line.

Even if you don't like to hunt, you could attend a hunt to watch the dogs and be thoroughly entertained.

Another bird that Brett will stuff in my vest.....

This one was dead though, all good!

Pretty sure Stephen was on the ground when he took this one but am so glad he caught these images.

And one of the quail landed in the tree, so I found him and then he fell out of the tree.....

Best part about this photo, the smoke coming from my gun.

I'll show you more photos of the birds, the peaceful cabin and a new quail recipe soon.  

But for now, we are thankful for our new friends and a mini trip away before our busy travel season and then planting season on the farm.  

I would say the beauty of it is the fact we found an outdoor hobby we both enjoy.

Brett would say the beauty of it is the fact I actually want a dog now.  

Either way, the beauty of hunting is the freedom we enjoy to hunt outdoors and enjoy our time together.

Walk the Miles You Are Given

After the fire alarm went off, I realized I grabbed my purse and computer instead of my coat. 

Then while outside in the freezing weather, I was reminded that life is pretty funny sometimes and you just have to walk the miles you are given.

I was in Denver this past weekend with my best friend Lindsay for the National Western Livestock Show.  

For several years now, we have been those Indiana farm girls grounded in our roots that love to take our wings west.  And we embrace the adventures along the way, even if it's not in our plan at the moment.

During one trip from Denver through Wyoming and into Montana we stopped along dirt roads to photograph the beautiful western scenery.  We looked like strange tourists in dresses and boots with a crappy rental and fancy cameras.  But we were in heaven, and took a moment to appreciate our surroundings.

As girls that grew up with cattle, we were amused by this sign and stopped to take a picture.  

While on top of this mountain along the Beartooth Highway, we thought it would be a good idea to call our moms while we had phone service.  Well.....we got to the top of the hill here and as we were talking to our moms, a truck pulled behind our car.  We were instantly scared and I realized that I even left the keys in the car so we could have been stranded if they were to take our crappy rental.

But turns out, it was a friendly old man who was making his way through the pass and wanted to make sure we were okay.  Unexpected surprises on the road aren't always scary.

But then there was the time we were stalked by mountain men (and we thought they were chasing us).  Or the time we got the last room at a Motel 8 with nothing but construction workers and truckers.  

And we must not forget the time that we almost slept in our car because there was no vacancy in a small Wyoming town due to a Quarter Horse Show.

But when in Denver, a mile high, we somehow seem comfortable as we find our roots in every corner.  It may be in the old stockyards or talking to an old man who is a descendant of Laura Ingalls Wilder (no joke).

And we never forget the wings that brought us west.  

I find it funny at times, we both are so grounded in Indiana and rooted in our history, 

but yet we love the miles our wings take us on.  

And we always remind each other, as we all should,

 to not blink when on your adventures or you will miss the beauty of it all.

When my flight was cancelled late on Monday, I kind of forgot about the beauty.  After long lines, hours on the phone, booking my flight in my maiden name, rounding up college kids to share a cab with and the fire alarm at 7:30 a.m. in the always lovely Quality Inn well.....I forgot about the beauty of the adventure.

It wasn't until I helped a couple get home, realized I helped the poor college kids and had great conversations with people at the airport that I felt better.  That maybe the miles I was given for this trip were not only meant to enjoy Denver but to slow down and appreciate the adventure.

We are only given so many miles in our lives. 

I understand everyone has somewhere to be, but can't we slow down and it enjoy it all for a minute.

So while we may be a mile high on our next adventure or see many miles of the road ahead, 

slow down, walk the miles you are given, appreciate the people and places around you and enjoy.