Punchy Protagonist

"You look tired." "You look stressed." 🐦 These words were uttered twice in one week right in my general direction. I'd rather they farted .  They were followed then by "rough week?" and my favorite, "you look like you're ready for a fight." Maybe I am, Skipper...want to be next on my list? Just in case it is not well-known, the last thing anyone that is tired or stressed wants to hear is that they look as such. This type of comment is only acceptable if you are holding something to help combat that stress or exhaustion. You may not think this is a harmless comment, you may think you are being sincere. But, in reality, you are merely calling attention to something that we are already aware of, and something that we do not want to be. Do people ever stop and think before they point out the obvious that maybe there are reasons behind the disheveled look and the slumped shoulders? Maybe it is temporary....a bad night's sleep or a particu...

 You have seen us. Gathered around the show ring, leaning against the fence.  The has-beens. We may be teaching our own students the skills taught to us years ago. We may be toting around our children, holding halters and reminding them to have fun. We may be helping run the show, wanting the same experiences for youth that we had. We may just be there as spectators or in the ring as open exhibitors. Either way it comes, we are around...and those straight backs and intense stares at the judge used to be us. Just remember, one day we will all be there. We may have traded our Rockies for trouser jeans and our Fatbaby’s for Twisted Xs, but we endure. Not only do we endure, but with years in this industry comes knowledge. Knowledge and experience that can neither be imitated nor replaced. Many very late nights and very early mornings spent with family and people that became family. Losses that were hard to handle and wins that were hard fought for. Similar to the postal service, r...

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. I was talking to a fellow teacher friend of mine recently and we were reflecting on the past school year. The craziness, some funny stories, and the sheer chaos of it all. We discussed teacher shortages and how disrespectful students can be. I repeated something to her that I have said to other family and friends of mine, "when I was in high school, I would not DARE talk to a teacher the way some of these kids talk to me." My friend agreed.  She, I, and many others that I know have come to a conclusion that I am sure is not new...so many of the adolescent attitudes we are seeing, whether good or bad, stem from what they see outside of school and, more importantly, what their home lives teach them.  From what I can tell, we have a society of children, adolescents, and adults that need to listen to a little bit more Aretha Franklin. Maybe on repeat. Our pastor gave a sermon a few Sundays ago about resetting different things in our lives. One was our mouth. I defi...