Punchy Protagonist

The cattle pasture was calling. The crisp, fall air was whispering to me to come outside and enjoy it.  Around me, things that needed to be done. The reminants of a long day at work of doing my best and still feeling behind. Freshly cleaned floors and bathrooms and a sore shoulder. Dishes and laundry to be both washed and put away. Lessons to create only to be unappreciated and questioned.  Wedding plans to fret over.  Outside my window, a picturesque dusk setting and my trusty steed (the Polaris Ranger). My couch all of a sudden felt uncomfortable and my soul restless. I needed therapy. I needed peace and to quiet my mind.  I needed to get the hades out of there. The cows were not up where I could see them from my deck, so I decided to go to them.  My favorite feeling of cool fall air rushed through my hair and lungs as I drove through the green pasture, gaining solice with each breath. It was a beautiful night to forget responsibilities. I might have been less...

She stood there, panting and taking turns eyeballing each of the four of us. She had never been away from her home, her safe place, and now she was five hours away staring at four brand new faces in a brand new barn as we just stared back. The look in her eyes read of fear with not a glimpse of trust to be found. Yet.  She didn’t trust any of us as far as she could throw us, and at a year old and around 1000 pounds, she could’ve thrown any of us pretty far if she so desired. Two attempts got her off of the trailer with no injuries to anyone, but it was certainly the journey getting her to her pen. She breathed heavy and plastered herself against the barn wall, where she adamantly stayed any time one of us tried to approach her. Getting too close to her was met with a bolt in the other direction.    If she could have climbed the panels of her pen, she would have.    We all knew she wasn’t crazy, but she wasn’t going to just be one you walked in there and started ...

I haven’t posted lately, and honestly I haven’t known quite what to post. Every day I wake up with a new feeling about the current situation we all seem to be in. I have trouble getting all those thoughts and feelings into something coherent that I can actually write out with any remanence of finesse. Tonight, however, I went to my classroom. I just went to get some things to bring home. It is a different situation than the last time I was in there. The last time I was there, I was frantically trying to print off AMI work and was still in the dark about whether or not my classroom would get any use before the end of the term. Tonight, my classroom was the same as ever but now the situation is completely different. When I say that my classroom was the same as ever, I mean it looks the same as the day I left it in March. Chromebooks were still out on the tables, abandoned for weeks, just like my students set them on the table to go to their next classes not 5 minutes prior. Notebooks...

Resolutions. Something that people strive for in the new year and, the majority of the time, fall short. Famously around the globe, there are millions of jokes, memes, and social media posts made about resolutions that were made and put by the wayside. As the Mad Hatter says, I have been considering things that begin with the letter M. In this case, it is "myself." In my sometimes whirlwind of a life, I usually spend the least amount of time in front of the mirror as possible. But sometimes, life hands you situations where you take an extended look at yourself. And, through that, are born blog posts. Most years, I do not bother with resolutions and, if I am honest, the list I am about to diverge probably don't fall under the typical "resolutions." 1. Stop worrying.  I know that everyone worries, and there are things in life that are worth worrying about. However, sometimes I catch myself worrying about things that should not be of any consequence. ...

On Christmas Eve, one of my old show heifers had a calf. My boyfriend, parents, and I scooped up the calf and lead the cow to the barn because the calf was getting kicked when it tried to nurse. After finishing work with the pair, as we were standing in my parents’ driveway, my boyfriend pulled out a ring and proposed to me. For us, raising cattle is an adventure we love to do together. We plan on continuing to have cattle and building our herd together just like we will build our life together. I found out later that he was planning on proposing when a certain heifer calved...the first one we bought together as a couple. Unfortunately, she hasn’t calved yet because she got bred later than we thought. Knowing that I was getting impatient because his self-announced timeline was running out (and because I might have voiced that I didn’t want to get put off again and again) he chose another time to propose. He chose to keep his word to me and adjust his plan.  This is not only a s...

There is currently a post ciruculating around the agriculture community on Facebook, some of which I am a frequent browser of. It reads: To the women raising cattle for butcher, but cuddling a wet, struggling newborn calf, that’s covered in afterbirth, inside their pickup truck.   To the women who believe in God and the word, but also believe that everyone has a right to love who they want.   To the women who aren’t trying to prove they can do anything a man can do, but genuinely enjoy pushing themselves to conquer any challenge.   To the women with broken and chipped nails, but still have painted on red polish.   To the women giving immunizations and administering medicine, but still believe in the healing powers of stones and plants.   To the women always dressing up for the occasion, wearing yesterday’s curls, blue jeans, and the heels of cowboy boots.   To the women busting their knuckles and callusing their palms, but still wearing their ...