The Wisdom of Our Elders

A few weeks ago, Amy wrote a newsletter about a bond between cousins in her family. Today I want to talk about another family bond. This particular bond is one between a Grandpa and his grandson. Just a couple weeks ago were my Grandpa and Gran’s (Grandma) birthdays. They are 81 and 82 years old and have been married for 55 Years!! (Yes, I like to brag about my family too.) Growing up I always thought my grandpa was the coolest. He drove a big Cement truck, he rode horses and, back in the day, he even used to race pony chariots! One thing that I admired, and still admire, most about my Grandpa is that he always made time for me and the rest of us grandkids. He taught us a lot of fun things like how to golf but also some important life lessons such as how to handle money (which I could still use his help with), how to buy a vehicle but, most of all, how to have fun and love family. Back in the day my Grandpa had no problem beating me at everything we did. Now he can’t drive a golf ball as far as me but I noticed something, after playing the same golf course (Double Dam in Rosalind) he knows the course so well that he could tell me exactly how to place each shot and, upon thinking further, I realized his knowledge of not just golf but everything far surpasses anything I could ever dream to know. To tie this all into farming I’m going to leave you all with this: take in the wisdom of your elders, they know how the world, the weather and the ins and outs of how life works! Thank you to all of the elders that helped start their families’ farms. Thank you for all your years of hard work and the wisdom you impart on the next set of generations. And finally, thank you Grandpa for everything you’ve done for our family.