In 1789, President George Washington declared a “Day of Publick Thanksgiving”, continuing the tradition started in 1621 when the early settlers and the Wampanoag tribe held a three day feast to celebrate the year’s fruitful harvest. During the Civil War in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday as a national holiday simply named Thanksgiving. He hoped the holiday would help bridge the chasm between the north and the south.
The Thanksgiving season is steeped in history and tradition- taking time to account for the blessings brought in through a year of hard work and intentionally giving thanks to overcome the challenges this life brings.
The few weeks of the season are almost forgotten as so many skip on to the joy of Christmas. And while the magic of a winter wonderland and the celebration of Christ’s birth is so deserving of our focus, pausing to count blessings and have an attitude of gratitude is always worth it.
In agriculture, an industry that makes it from one year to next by the grace of a higher power, we feel that gratitude deeply. We see hardships of drought, loss of livestock, dropping market prices, and rising expenses. But somehow we tend to have just enough rain to make it through another season, enough cattle to fill our contracts, and enough funds to keep our operations running for another year.
So I’m going to take this opportunity to point out the things I’m thankful for, especially those things in this industry that bring peace to my soul.
I am thankful for the buddy seat in our big green tractor. It allows me to come and sit with my husband when I need to chat. It gives me a chance to see him on days I might not otherwise. It gives my little boys a place to sit and ride when they want to be like dad. And it gives my big boy a place to learn to work with his dad by teaching by his side.
I am thankful for slow old horses that might seem broken down and even a little worthless until I throw my babies on their backs. Carrying my most precious cargo, their plodding pace seems just right. Their steady gait teaches my young learners to keep going, keep trying, and keep holding on.
I am thankful for weekly water checks that might seem to eat up a day, but provide the perfect excuse for me to go for a quick lunch date with my man. Some trips we conquer the world’s problems and other days we sit in a peaceful silence as we look out over the beautiful vastness of this country. Every once in a while there is actually a water issue to take care, and on those days we are thankful for all the weeks that nothing went wrong.
I am thankful for a western heritage, a way of living that we are able to continue to this day. There may be innovations and advancements in farming and ranching that have progressed the industry that I wholly embrace, but branding on the range like the old timers did feels like a nod to the foundation they gave.
I am thankful to have our work right outside the back door. Somedays it feels like it never quits, but every day I am thankful to look out the window and see our cattle, watch my husband drive around the corner and send the kids off to work. Jumping in to help work is just a quick walk away where everyone is welcome and no one is turned away.
I am thankful to be in an industry that feeds the world and feeds the world something they desperately need. We can debate all day about the health and nutrition facts but no one will convince me that beef at your table isn’t just good for your body, it’s good for the soul. I know that because the same beef I raise for the grocery store sits on my table to feed my own family.
I am thankful for a sometimes dirty, smelly, disorganized shop that not only keeps our equipment up and running, but my own rig too. It’s a place for my kids to take apart their dirt bikes. It’s a place for new ideas and projects. It’s a place to huff up a basketball or a flat tire. It may call for too many late nights working, but it also expands the possibilities for my family.
I’m thankful for bright lights- in the arena, on the tractor, outside the shop, and the flashlight I use to check cows in the night. All too often I complain about having to use them, that the work is going too long and too late. But these lights help finish the work and finish it right.
I’m thankful I get to see the miracle of life and also witness the grief of death. Whether it is a favorite pet or just another cow in the herd, we feel the gift every life is and the loss of every passing. Instead of becoming calloused to either, the beauty, strength, fragility, and hope of every life has become a counted blessing.
I’m thankful to watch the seasons come and pass every year. The hope of a new spring is exciting and invigorating. The eventual growth through the summer makes the hard, long days worth it. Making an accounting of the year’s production with the fall harvest is satisfying. And then resting through the winter as Mother Nature prepares for a new year is peaceful.
I could go on and on finding things to be thankful for. From the little cowboy hats and boots that line my mudroom to the chickens in the coop, there is something that brings joy and peace to my life.
If you haven’t taken time to pause this season to be grateful for the blessings around you, take a little timeout and give thanks. The hustle and bustle of life might have you believing there isn’t a lot to be thankful for. And while Christmas is in a hurry to splash across your front door, don’t let it push a season of gratitude aside.
