I guess farming is in my blood. I’ve always loved growing things, from roses to tomatoes, to whatever we could get planted before Daddy was transferred and we were on the road cross-country to our new home. Most of the time, our trees were just beginning to leaf out and the asparagus patch was two springs away from edible shoots when the transfer orders came through. But as soon as the last box was unpacked, Mom was out putting in new asparagus crowns and planning gardens.

Grandpa always dreamed of raising cows. It wasn’t until he was well into his 60s that he got that little house with a 2-acre pasture and white picket fence. He’d raise five white-faced Herefords, slaughter them, keep the meat from one, sell the other four and buy five more. That one cow fed Grandma and Grandpa (and all their frequent guests) for the year.

I went up to visit one summer and fell in love. Getting up in the dark to feed the cows before breakfast was no sacrifice because those cows were my friends. They were good listeners and really knew how to keep a secret! I loved the sun, rain, earthy fields and wide-open spaces. A girl really had room to think out there in Centralia, Washington. It was there I felt that first “this is home” feeling among the pine trees.

Grandpa taught me fly fishing on his long driveway and would take me out in the evenings to try my skills in the water. Grandma was a real cook. It didn’t matter what kind of fish we brought home, she’d clean it and cook it up! Grandma knew how to cook that entire cow too, from horn to hoof, and every cut was as delicious as a filet mignon after her treatment.

Grandpa only lived five years after moving to the farm, but he had realized his dream and I believe he died a happy man. Finding your joy will do that to you. I don’t care if my children are doctors or ditch-diggers, as long as they find their joy. That’s my New Year’s wish for all my readers: that you find joy in what you are doing and where you are planted.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays, hosted by Food Renegade.