Cultivating Gratitude
I just love it when someone from the non-agriculture community uses a term that reminds me of farming. Such was the case in December as I sat in yoga class and our instructor encouraged us to practice “cultivating gratitude.” She encouraged us to appreciate everything we had; being grateful from within and sharing this appreciation with others.
We’re fortunate here in our rural community to have a great yoga studio – Laughing Lotus – nestled in the top of a pole barn a few miles outside of Columbia City. Farmers and yoga aren’t exactly a matching pair, but I have found few other workout venues that relieve stress as much as a good yoga class. And lately, being part of a farm family has been a bit stressful.
I have to say I was glad to see 2009 pass and welcome 2010 as a new (and hopefully prosperous) year. No resolutions were made as the New Year arrived. They’re too easy to be broken. Instead, I’ve decided to take some yoga advice and be more thankful for things, in hopes of passing this appreciation on to others. I was inspired by many friends on Facebook who, over the holidays, posted a variety of things they were thankful for on a daily basis. During this time, we were in the midst of very long and temperamental harvest. This was compounded by a dismal hog market over the past few years, and the “usual” farm afflictions: repairs, break-downs and a to-do list that gets longer instead of shorter. Despite these frustrations, I realized we were so fortunate to have our health, our jobs and our family. Many others could not boast of such fortunes last year. Some days, however, it’s easy to get caught up in the negative details life tosses our way. To be quite honest, I had drifted away from helping on the farm during the fall months. Taking on a second job to help supplement the family income, along with other responsibilities, put helping out around here on the back burner for me. For a short time, it also made me forget why we do what we do.
It is easy in agriculture to focus more on the bad than on the good – poor weather, fluctuating crop prices, moldy corn, unpredictable livestock futures, untimely disease, annoying animal rights activists, increasing expenses - the list goes can on for some time. I opted to defy the negatives, and for one day, focus on the good. I was going to cultivate gratitude right here on this farm. I informed my husband that I would be spending an entire day working with him so I could renew my appreciation for the little things in our livelihood. My secret hope was that through my efforts, I would “sow the seeds” (again, gotta love those ag terms) of appreciation in myself, my hubby and possibly others.
The odds were stacked against me from the start. I selected one of the coldest days in January, compounded with a two-hour school delay. Even better, it was market hog loading day. With my father-in-law. Ten minutes of doing just about anything with him is enough to cure someone of cultivating gratitude forever. Despite this, I hustled Dillon on the bus and embarked on my day’s journey. Here are a few of the things I took time to be grateful for, many of which are so precious because they can only be found right here on this farm.
Every morning, I am grateful for our farm dogs as they wag their tails in excitement to see us. We brought home Riggs, our Blue Heeler, almost 13 years ago and he has proved to be an excellent “pig dog.” Thanks to Gary Rider for sharing Blaze with us and to the idiot who dumped off Scooby last May…what were you thinking??? He is the most loving, adorable dog, even if he does like to eat shoes and gloves.
As we load hogs, I am grateful for Rex, the truck driver. I don’t think there are many livestock haulers like him. He could double for Santa and always has a smile on his face. From the few times I have chatted with Rex, I know he loves three things: his kids, his truck and Jesus. We’re lucky to have him haul our hogs.
I’m grateful for hurdles (plastic boards we use to move hogs from place to place) as I try to push half a dozen 250-pound pigs down the walkway. As they head on the truck, I’m thankful for all those people out there that eat pork. Hey, I’m even thankful for vegetarians. That means more meat for the rest of us. Seriously, have you ever thought about the fact that farmers truly feed the world? For that, I am grateful.
The morning proceeds and I am having a tough time trying to focus on appreciating the little things. Cold weather and farming with family can sometimes make for testy attitudes in the morning, but I must focus. What’s next? Breeding…hmmmm. Instead of focusing on the process, I think about the end result: baby pigs. I love baby pigs. I love just about any baby animal. There’s something about baby pigs that are irresistible. So later on, I take a walk through the farrowing house. Most of the sows are sleeping, as are the pigs. Several pop their heads up to look at me, while a few others decide to indulge in a “milkshake.” A few others are running around their pen, playing a form of reindeer games. I’m even thankful for runts. As we move nursery pigs before lunch, there is one little guy who just hasn’t caught up on the growth curve with his counterparts. I pick him up and opt to let him ride down to the other barn in my lap. Donnie offers to carry him to his pen. I think I just cultivated a bit of gratitude with my spouse, thanks to little Wilbur. By now my toes were frozen, so when we stopped at the main farm I opted to wait in the truck and warm up as Donnie bedded the trailer. One of my favorite aspects of our farm is the cattle. I’ll share more about them in another Musings, but at this particular moment as I watch them in the barnyard I am amused by Frosty, one of our Shorthorn cows. She is giving herself a wonderful neck, side and butt rub against the hay rack, and she appears to be thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. Even though the cows probably give us more expenses than income at times, I am so grateful for their presence here at Three “D”. I’m also grateful for warm trucks and the fact that I’m not Amish. I grew up around a large Amish community, and I have always thought it would be a neat experience to live with an Amish family for a week to appreciate a simpler life. If I had a chance to do this, it would definitely be in the late spring or early fall; right now I’m far too grateful for the warmth and electricity modern conveniences provide.
Unlike many other occupations, farming allows Donnie and me to have lunch together on a regular basis. Of course, I have to make it (he does help clean up), but I am grateful for this time when we can catch up on conversation or recount the day’s happenings. I think it makes our relationship as a farm couple stronger, especially during trying times. I must not be working on his nerves too bad because Donnie asks if I can help him with some things after lunch. He may not realize this, but I often feel a strong sense of gratitude when he asks me to lend a helping hand around the farm. After all, we’re in this together.
Our next task was repairing a few gates in the sow barn. This required grinding metal and welding. Now is the time to be thankful for safety glasses and welding helmets. Not that I had any, but Donnie did. When it came time for him to start the grinder on a gate, sparks flew in every direction. So did I. On this day, I’m grateful for quick reflexes. As he lowers his helmet and prepares to weld, he says to me “turn away and you’ll be o.k.” At this point, I guess I’m just grateful he told me to turn my head. I remember a few years back when Donnie and his dad did not follow this practice and woke in the middle of the night with burning pupils. As Donnie welded and I held the gate in place with my foot, I realized the day was wearing on, and I felt doubtful that I had enough “little things” to consider my day of cultivating gratitude a success.
As I turned away from the welding in process, I looked across the walkway at a pen of sows. There, sitting like a dog, was a blue-butt sow (we call them blue-butts because most have a blue coloring on their rear). Her ears were perked up, eyes shiny, and her belly was just beginning to show a hint of the pigs inside her. I walked over to the pen and studied her. She continued to sit and soon her head began to droop as she dozed off. After a couple more head bobs, she perked up again and looked at me for some time. I don’t know why, but on this day, she exemplified gratitude for me. She made me smile. She made me grateful for all that we had and for a moment she made me dream of possibilities. All this from one momma pig.
We finished our repair work and drove up the road. As I headed in the house and picked through the mail, I opened the furnace repair bill hesitantly. While doing this, I happened to notice the washer was leaking all over the laundry room floor. And, the cat puked a fur ball on the carpet. I was back in reality, but it was o.k. For one day, I took time to appreciate many things we take for granted or simply don’t notice here on the farm, and I think it made me a better person. Thus, I’m going to continue working to cultivate gratitude in 2010, here on the farm and wherever I go. Hopefully I’ll meet you along the way!