Recently my husband (the farmer) and I celebrated our 36^th wedding anniversary. Thirty-six years—can that be right? Surely, we haven’t been married for 36 years!

It just reminds me how quickly time is racing by, and so in retrospect, I just thought I would reflect on things I would have missed if I had not married a farmer.

I would never have known the pleasure of watching an unplanted field go through the process of fruition: seeing the hard, dry ground cut deep with sharp plows and then the rich smell of the damp, dark soil wafting up as it was being turned over and over, making clods of dirt that would soon be drilled with kernels of corn; waiting and watching for that first sign of life, that first green leaf to pop through the dry, crusted ground; and later, as the plants grew to be over six feet tall, looking across the field which would have been mistaken for a green ocean, had each row of plants not been so meticulously straight; and finally, experiencing the smells and sounds of the harvest—crisp cool air, dry crunching leaves, and corn being picked, plucked or shelled.

I would never have known the delight of seeing a calf born in the green grass of spring, of seeing a baby calf nurse for the first time, or hearing him “maaawl” when he wakes from a nap and he can’t find his mama. I would never have sensed the fear of a mama protecting her baby from us when we were just trying to help them out. I would never have been able to sit on the back of a four-wheeler and look across the great span of our pasture and watch our herd of cattle happily graze on a lush paddock of sweet, green grasses.

I would never have known the joy that comes from being called “Mom”, not once but nine times. Each child brought a new enjoyment, but all were pleasantly the same, too. The pleasure of that tiny, warm bundle of softness placed in my arms made my heart melt. I never went anywhere that I didn’t wrap up each child so they looked like a little papoose. And it was a joy to watch them grow; we worked so hard to get them to talk, and without fail their first word was always, “da, da”. Then we taught them to walk, and they began to run on their own. They all went through the terrible twos, the terrifying threes, and the turbulent teens, but (thankfully) have now seemed to emerge as reasonably normal adults.

But most importantly, if I would never have married Ron, I would never have known the gratification of being who I have become. Through our shared experiences, both good and bad, we have both learned many things. The most important lesson is that we should honor God with our lives as individuals, with our marriage as a couple, and with our family as a whole. I have learned the principle that it’s greater to give than to receive, to rejoice with those who rejoice and to cry with those who are sad, and that things go better if we work towards the same goal…making me happy! J

Happy Anniversary, Honey! Here’s to 36 more years, which should be all downhill from here…right?!

Now that the dust has settled a little on the past election,

I thought I would just say this one thing. America has definitely changed. We have changed from a nation of “makers” to a nation of “takers”. We’ve gained a sense of entitlement, in which we believe that everyone should have everything, without working for it. We’ve swallowed the lie that it is the government’s responsibility to provide for us. Our nation was designed to grow by the strengths of individuals, by the individual’s right to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The government’s job is to protect us from foreign threats – it really was not instituted to oversee or administer in the realm of business, education, or healthcare – see Constitution.

Fifty years ago,

Americans could go to their local grocery store, clothing store, and hardware store, which were owned by local people who hired local residents. Every family had one dad and one mom and the kids belonged to both of them. Killing someone was illegal—in and out of the womb. Obscenity was illegal, dope was illegal, and both were shunned from public display. Americans went to school and then maybe to college, if they could afford it. You got a job, and then a better job, and if you couldn’t get a job, you started a business and gave others a job.

But what about the next 50 years?

I’m afraid that we have swallowed the lie produced by the government. The lie that tells us that Uncle Sam will take care of us from the cradle to the grave. The government began to take care of us, and now we expect it. Most Americans (as proven in the last election) expect the government to pay for education, support everyone who loses their job, and subsidize families that aren’t making as much money as they think they need. Unfortunately, the government does not make their own money. Either they have to get it from taxes, which we all end up paying, or they borrow it from a foreign country, which our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren will end up paying for.

A Voice from the Past

The prediction of Alexis de Tocqueville (a French historian from the 1800’s) seems to have come true: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”

That handout you’re getting from Uncle Sam comes with a price that will be too high to pay back.

Election 2012

Super Bowl for Political Junkies

What an exciting time in America’s history! We are about to vote for our next President of the United States of America! This is like the Super Bowl for political junkies like me. Does that describe you? As political junkies, we planned our whole summer around the Primaries, which led up to the opportunity to cast our vote for our Presidential candidate. Then came the back and forth between President Obama and Governor Romney. Daily we watched the political news, fast-forwarding through the day-to-day events just to catch a sound bite or an intelligent assessment given by some expert of the man we chose for our party’s nomination.

My husband and I planned “date” nights around the four final debates, and I recorded them so I could watch them a second (and sometimes a third) time. [This is where you insert “she is crazy!”] But I like to make up my own mind. I don’t want to be told that President Obama said this or that Governor Romney seemed this way or that way.

A Country Divided

Now there is only seven days left—seven days!—until we elect our next President. As expected tensions are high on both sides, political commercials are flooding our TV programs, junk mail is filling up our mailboxes, and unfortunately, most of our country is divided into two very intolerant groups of people.

I’ve been on social media and face-to-face with people who are adamant about not getting along with someone else because of their political association. And it’s on both sides. Republicans and Democrats are disrespectful, condescending, intolerant, and even vicious at times because someone will not be voting for their approved candidate.

Historical Facts

One of the things that have always made America strong is our freedom of speech. If you get up and say that the sky is yellow, you will be wrong, but you have the right to say it—and I have the right to disagree with you. But morally, I don’t have the right to hate you because you are a believer of “the yellow sky”.

I do however have a right to voice my opinion and try to convince others to be a “blue skyer” instead of a “yellow skyer”. Not by hating them, but by using the facts…facts that I have studied out and learned about, and am a witness to. There is another way to prove my point also, by history. Historically the sky has been blue. Sometimes pink when the sun is setting, sometimes gray when a storm blows in, and sometimes green when a tornado is about to pass, but historically, when the sky is clear it has always been blue.

The candidates and their respective minions continually spout off things that they are equipped to do for our country. Back and forth…going to raise taxes on the rich, going to decrease taxes on the poor, going to provide healthcare, going to fix Medicare, going to decrease the budget, going to balance the books..blah..blah..blah..yadda..yadda..yadda.

We can’t really believe everything they say, because a lot of it is hypothetical. And we need to realize that they are not running for “King” of the United States, so they will have to play nice with others (the Congress) in order to get anything done.

Now that we’ve heard all of the debates, all of the talking points, all of the commercials, and all of the spin, let’s look at the history of the candidates. As I’m writing this I have two editorials on either side of me, respectfully positioned: on my left a Democrat backed paper that we received from the union and on my right a Republican backed paper we received from our church. And although they both claim to be unbiased (they’re just reporting the truth…right…) I’m only going to use the points that each side believes is positive for their candidate.

Historically, President Obama has been a lawyer, a Senator, and a President.

• As of July, he is averaging +0.84% annual job growth in his term
• He passed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)
• He passed the Making Home Affordable program
• He has doubled investments in Pell Grants
• His stimulus package includes $100 billion for education
• In May 2012, he said his belief is that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry
• He is pro-choice

Historically, Governor Romney has been a missionary, a businessman, and a Governor.

• He led Bain & Company out of financial crisis
• He organized and led the 2002 Olympics to financial success
• He reformed the state’s health care program when he was governor of Massachusetts
• He presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2-1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and the closure of corporate tax loopholes
• In 2006, he urged the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment
• He is pro-life

The United States of America

So…chose your president. And whichever man wins, we as Americans, should “unite” behind him. Don’t be a sore loser and take your ball and go home. We don’t have to support his policies, and if he doesn’t keep his promises, the next time we get the opportunity we’ll vote him out. Together we are The United States of America…oh sure we have different parties and different opinions, and different ways of doing things, but that’s what makes us unique. We need to discuss, debate, and argue our beliefs, but at the end, we need to unite. …Don’t allow race, religion, or some commercial to decide your vote, dig out the history of these men and make up your own mind. And play nice…

A Voice from the Past

Just to finish, I was reading a small article about the past Presidents and I found an endearing quote from John Adams. In 1800, President Adams, from the unfinished rooms of the nation’s Capitol City, wrote his wife, “Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May not but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents