Things have been quiet on the blog lately. We have been enjoying time with family in addition to farm work and meetings.

On June 27th, we attended the wedding of our niece and new nephew-in-law. Laura rode with us, and we met Anna and Doug at our hotel. Jonathan hadn’t seen Anna or Doug since we parted ways in Stuttgart, Germany in January, so he was anxious to see them. Christina and I were able to visit them on our way back from New York in May, but it was still so good to get hugs from them again. It was so nice to be able to spend time playing games, visiting, and laughing together.

It’s funny, as much as I cherish my friends – whether they are In Real Life friends or Social Media friends – and my family, I seem to have troubles nurturing those relationships. Maybe it’s because of my fear of being a bother, or not wanting to look foolish, I’m not sure. I think we all have those insecurities, and put up walls from time to time to protect our hearts. The thing is, when those walls go up, we miss out on the human relationships that we crave.

I think Anna and Doug’s visit, and the impromptu gatherings with family and friends surrounding their visit here have made me realize how much I need to nurture my human connections, and how, in the grand scheme of things, those relationships are the important things in life. The point isn’t to just comment on things I disagree with or where I see an educational opportunity. The point is to build the relationships so that when a disagreement happens, it doesn’t ruin that relationship. In many conferences and workshops we hear about how to advocate for agriculture by building relationships with our consumers, but I think we also need to build relationships with other advocates.

Thanks, Anna and Doug, for the visit, and for making me see the importance of nurturing my relationships!

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Every girl needs to have some good girlfriends in her life. The types of friends that, even when you don’t see each other as regularly as before, you pick up right where you left off. I love my Domestic Goddess friends!

When I moved to Cottonwood in 1988, Jonathan’s friends became my friends. However, it took a long time to find good female friends. Ones that you could talk to about things that make guys cringe. There were a few newer young couples that moved to Cottonwood, and they were looking for friendships as well. We were all stay at home moms at the time, and we needed some fellowship with other women who were in the same boat.

There were five women and a handful of kids at our first gathering for coffee. We all agreed that we needed to get together regularly, so we tried for an every-other-week coffee and play date. We took turns hosting, with the rule that it didn’t matter how messy your house was, because we weren’t there to see your house. We are all different, yet we all clicked. We were sad when the first one moved away, but we were determined to keep getting together.

As time went on, another moved away, our kids became independent, and coffee at each others houses turned into lunch in town. We don’t get together as often anymore, but when we do, it’s like we just had lunch last week. I always thought that as the kids got older, it would be easier to get  together, but it isn’t! We’re all involved in so many things, and support our kid’s activities as much as before…which means more travel as they move to college. I crave time with these women, and I cherish those moments when we are together.

I am so thankful for Lynn, Sandy, Stephanie, and Diane. I love you girls!

Day 1: Pizza

Day 2: Shoes

Day 3: Shout Stain Remover

Day 4: The Ability to Vote

Day 5: My Heritage

Day 6: NASCAR

Day 7: Black Velvet for Photography

Day 8: Strong Coffee and Strong Hairspray

Day 9: Peacefulness

Day 10: Winter’s First Snow

Day 11: Freedom

Day 12: Dairy

Day 13: Jonathan

Day 14: Coffee

Day 15: Seasons

Day 16: Scones

Day 17: #AgNerds

Day 18: Playing in the Dirt

Day 19: Friends

Click here to go to Holly Spangler’s blog, and see the link for other 30 Day Challenge Bloggers

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