I have spoken to audiences in 48 of the United States so I have one thing yet to accomplish during my next phase of life and that is to address folks in Delaware and Hawaii. Then all 50 states will be covered.
What else is there? That goal got moved to the front burner as our middle daughter, Lindsi, recently graduated from Loup City High School and presented her valedictorian speech.
She wrote her own speech, decided what and how to give it and, of course, got school approval. For someone who has spoken to audiences around the world, it was a tremendous milestone to sit and watch her touch people’s hearts and minds with her words. She spoke primarily about the resolve that is necessary to overcome any obstacles that might be thrown in your path.
While the message was great, that was not nearly as important to me as the confidence with which she delivered it. I strongly believe that many of the problems we deal with in today’s world stem back to the fact that folks do not have confidence in themselves. Without self-confidence, people fall prey to the latest and greatest snake oil salesman that comes to town. As a proud father I can say that a daughter that is confident, without being arrogant, has reached a major milestone in life.
Her mother and I are at that point in life where every single decision we make is 100% based upon how it will affect the future for our three daughters.
Lindsi and her classmates have had every opportunity a high school senior should have in today’s world. In her speech, she reflected on how fortunate they were to be in a rural community where the opportunities were not limited in school activities. They did wear masks for the entire year to meet the requirements set for “worst case scenarios” which, thankfully, never happened. Some students were quarantined for COVID-19 reasons but, because the rest followed guidelines, they were able to participate in all activities but with limited spectators.
We will still have to fight for opportunities to create a better world for our three girls and all kids. However, as I sat there watching what I still see as my cute, ornery little cowgirl giving this passionate, insightful message about how we must overcome the obstacles we encounter, I realized that maybe we did this parenting thing pretty well and I, too, should heed her words of wisdom.
As I see it, if you are not working, day in and day out, for your kids, your grandkids and all kids, then I am not sure what you are doing. We present our balance sheet to the banker each and every year as small business operators but those kids we are raising never show up on the asset side of the ledger. Yet what greater measure of wealth is there than kids who can lead and encourage their own peers to do great things?
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].