Something uplifting

My deadline for writing this has come and gone. It’s late again. Mostly that is because I want to write about something other than the topic of the day.

I got up at 5:30 this morning to get my thoughts compiled and then Landri J., our 15-year-old, sat down with me. She asked what I was doing and I told her I was trying to get my thoughts together for my column while I had my first cup of coffee. She asked what I was going to write about and I told her I wasn’t sure but I thought I should write about something other than COVID-19. She said, “I agree; write something uplifting.”

When I asked Landri what would that uplifting topic be, she bailed on me and said that was my job! Then it hit me. The markets for every farm commodity in the United States are in the tank, folks are killing food animals by the millions and we don’t see a clear end in sight. So what exactly could be uplifting in all of this?

Easy! The very best part of 2020 is unfolding right in front of our eyes. I miss watching our girls getting into their summer softball season something fierce, but the best part that many folks may be missing is visible in our window to the world. In that window of your friends on social media, I see more kids holding fish than I can ever remember. I see more father/son/daughter talks happening and bonds being strengthened than I bet have ever happened in our previous world of constant schedule demands.

Honestly, what is more uplifting than sitting on the couch at 6 o’clock every morning drinking coffee and listening to your kids? Every parent I know has allowed the family lifestyle to be hacked by over-scheduled running here and running there. This might just be a nice and unexpected development.

Lindsi is walking through calving cows every morning looking for new calves and picking out cows that need to be watched. She has taken over the details of vaccinating, tagging and recording birthing data. Every day, her and I catch and tag new calves together and talk about observations in life. We talk about spending more time in the round pen getting horses ready to ride and one day soon we will get to that. The 4-H calves are halter broke and walking like it’s July so there will be time for horses, too.

I can’t tell you how many folks have told me that they are eating meals at the table together and many people are expanding their cooking skills because now they have time to look up and try new recipes. Our girls have had fun creating new dishes—some keepers and others not so much. We have the phone ringing from the same number of creditors as everybody else but, in the big picture, that will all work itself out. I don’t mean to minimize the economic impact of 2020 but clearly our greatest resource for the future is garnering more much-needed attention at this time, our kids.

There is no question that we are not much different from anybody else in that we talk but sometimes life passes too fast to listen. Being better listeners in the house and, particularly with our kids, is the greatest positive we can pull from the turmoil.

Maybe that listening thing pertains to more than the teenagers in your house. Maybe we could all be better listeners to everyone around us. I believe wholeheartedly that every segment of life has been rolling so fast that the amount of time we really spend listening was running on empty. We’ve all slowed down. I have heard more birds, more turkeys, more coyotes and seen more night twinkling skies than ever prior to March 1, 2020.

While I am on that topic of listening, I have talked to our oldest daughter Libbi more in the past 30 days than I did in the past three years and she lives a 1,000 miles away. In fact, thanks to modern “listening” tools, I have been able to see and hear her via Zoom. Her grandparents truly enjoyed being able to see her during our Sunday visit. I think it’s reassuring for them to see with their own eyes that she is doing well. It is for all of us.

Landri was absolutely right. It was time to write about something very uplifting and the uplifting part resides right here in the most important buildings on earth, our homes. Enjoy the slower pace and love the ones around you. Keep the faith that we will make good things come from these challenging times because, indeed, we always have.

Editor’s note: Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].