On Gratitude: The Stories of Legacy

I have to admit, it has been easy to be distracted by the two page long to do list that I made today for this week. It is a holiday week, which means cramming all farm work into a 4 day work week with mornings and evenings over the weekend dedicated to keeping the animals fed. Not to mention the extra cooking, cleaning and overall hullabaloo that accompanies the holidays. I am right there with ya.

But gratitude is an important practice. As I sit down to write this post, I am remembering that gratitude is often like love. It is a choice and an action more than a feeling. It can propel how we choose to live our lives or it can be the dusty feeling from the back of the closet that we pull out once a year to remind ourselves that we “should” be grateful.

When I think of the gratitude of my year, I am pulled towards a quote that my mother wrote on the decorative chalkboard on our porch back in April. It has lived there since and it says “This land, this air, this planet; this is our legacy to our young.” P.T. Over the past year, I have met many amazing people; farmers, conservationists, environmentalists, reporters, customers, children, and grandparents. I have had the opportunity to talk to people about my heart for Willow Run Farm. To talk about the importance of soil, of grass, of my cattle, of caring for the land. And it has been amazing to hear other people’s stories in return. To hear another woman farmer talk about how she got into farming. To hear a child talk about the importance of planting trees. To hear a conservationist put the tools for taking care of their land into the hands of a group of women.

It is amazing to hear the stories of today, but many of those stories start in the past. With the people who have changed, challenged, and impacted each of us. And that is another thing I am grateful for. For the people who have walked before me and for the children who will walk after me. For the people like my grandfather, who loved their land so dearly to pass it to their own children. For my mother and father who have taught me the value and importance of stewardship, giving back to the land, the community, and the animals. I am grateful to be a part of a story of people and feel the weight and responsibility of the mantle we all take up as adults to make it possible for the story and legacy to continue.

Which is why I’m grateful for every person who makes the choice to look at their world, whether that is farm, city, country, town, and say, “This land, this air, this planet; this is our legacy to our young.”

“Now, what can I do to care for it?”