We ARE Some of the Lucky Ones

I know that we all get caught up being overly critical of ourselves, others, and just downright negative sometimes...especially on Mondays :)

I came across this list of things the other day, to remind ourselves that we are lucky. Some of the easiest things in our day we take for granted. So on this Monday morning friends, remember, that we ARE the lucky ones. 

1. You are alive.

2. You are able to see the sunrise and the sunset.

3. You are able to hear birds sing and waves crash.

4. You can walk outside and feel the breeze through your hair and the sun’s warmth on your skin.

5. You have tasted the sweetness of chocolate cake.

6. You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night.

7. You awoke this morning with a roof over your head.

8. You had a choice of what clothes to wear.

9. You haven’t feared for your life today.

10. You have overcome some considerable obstacles, and you have learned and survived.

11. You often worry about what you’re going to do with your life – your career, your family, the next step, etc. – which means you have ambition, passion, drive, and the freedom to make your own decisions.

12. You live in a country that protects your basic human rights and civil liberties.

13. You are reasonably strong and healthy – if you got sick today, you could recover.

 

14. You have a friend or relative who misses you and looks forward to your next visit.

 

15. You have someone with whom to reminisce about ‘the good old days.

16. You have access to clean drinking water.

17. You have access to medical care.

18. You have access to the Internet.

19. You can read.

Let's be thankful today, friends. Happy Monday :)

The Truth About Love...

Friendships

I've been thinking a lot about this topic the last couple of months...friendships. How they change, how they evolve, how they begin and how they sometimes end. Over time, we change as people. 

At the age of 29, I know that I am a very different person than I was at the age of 21. Back in college we have LOTS of friends. Some of them great friends, some good friends, some acquaintances, frenemies, or just drinking buddies. I found myself periodically deleting more and more people from my Facebook friends list over the years since college, since I really didn't talk to any of those people anymore. It doesn't mean I value their years of friendship any less, I just don't connect with them anymore. I think I was at about 600 people, and am down to 200-some now. 

I can honestly say that some of my best friends now I met in college. I talk to them on a weekly basis, either text, phone calls, or email. Some of them I talk to every now and then, maybe once a month. And then there are others that I can not see or talk to for 6 months to a year, and we pick right back up where we left off. Those are the kinds of friendships I love. We understand that life happens to each of us and we may not be able to put each other as a top priority, but we still can connect as good friends when we see each other.

There are other times where you have a good friend, and life happens. People seem to change and go in different directions; they may have different priorities in life than you do, and it makes it hard sometimes to connect on that same friendship level that you have had in the past.

I think the reason I'm thinking a lot of this stuff is because we are currently in the transition phase of moving into parenthood. There have been comments made by some of my still-single friends about "locking your kids in the closet and leaving them home" when making plans to go to dinner with others because they didn't want the kids to disrupt the dinner. And purposely telling everyone that children are not allowed at this event or that event-which happens to be everything that they want you to come to. And basically they want it this way because they want you to party like a rockstar, get drunk and have a wild time like you used to in college. I know I'm not a mom yet, but as I start to think about feeding schedules, babysitters and basically how our whole lives are going to change, I can't help but feel a little frustrated. 

And when this person is a supposed great friend of yours, how do you deal with it? I guess I feel like this person is being rather selfish. I feel like I'm having to make a choice between my husband and child and their friendship. Which to me, is an easy decision hands down. I will choose my family each and every time, no question. And when I make that decision to choose my family over them, I know they'll be mad and treat me differently. Which is fine. I just can't wait until they have children and will maybe finally understand the different lifestyle choices you have to start making.

So to other moms who have dealt with this or to others who have dealt with good friendships growing apart how did you handle it?

Marriage Isn't For You

Several of my friends on FB posted this link the other day, so I decided to check it out...and glad I did! It's such a good short piece about marriage, I just knew I had to share it with you guys. Enjoy!

Marriage Isn't For You
by Seth Adam Smith

Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me. Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.

I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until…until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends. :) I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.

Nevertheless, falling in love with my best friend did not prevent me from having certain fears and anxieties about getting married. The nearer Kim and I approached the decision to marry, the more I was filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? Was I making the right choice? Was Kim the right person to marry? Would she make me happy?

Then, one fateful night, I shared these thoughts and concerns with my dad.
Perhaps each of us have moments in our lives when it feels like time slows down or the air becomes still and everything around us seems to draw in, marking that moment as one we will never forget.

My dad giving his response to my concerns was such a moment for me. With a knowing smile he said, “Seth, you’re being totally selfish. So I’m going to make this really simple: marriage isn’t for you. You don’t marry to make yourself happy, you marry to make someone else happy. More than that, your marriage isn’t for yourself, you’re marrying for a family. Not just for the in-laws and all of that nonsense, but for your future children. Who do you want to help you raise them? Who do you want to influence them? Marriage isn’t for you. It’s not about you. Marriage is about the person you married.”

It was in that very moment that I knew that Kim was the right person to marry. I realized that I wanted to make her happy; to see her smile every day, to make her laugh every day. I wanted to be a part of her family, and my family wanted her to be a part of ours. And thinking back on all the times I had seen her play with my nieces, I knew that she was the one with whom I wanted to build our own family.

My father’s advice was both shocking and revelatory. It went against the grain of today’s “Walmart philosophy”, which is if it doesn’t make you happy, you can take it back and get a new one.

No, a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?”, while Love asks, “What can I give?”

Some time ago, my wife showed me what it means to love selflessly. For many months, my heart had been hardening with a mixture of fear and resentment. Then, after the pressure had built up to where neither of us could stand it, emotions erupted. I was callous. I was selfish.
But instead of matching my selfishness, Kim did something beyond wonderful—she showed an outpouring of love. Laying aside all of the pain and aguish I had caused her, she lovingly took me in her arms and soothed my soul.

I realized that I had forgotten my dad’s advice. While Kim’s side of the marriage had been to love me, my side of the marriage had become all about me. This awful realization brought me to tears, and I promised my wife that I would try to be better.

To all who are reading this article—married, almost married, single, or even the sworn bachelor or bachelorette—I want you to know that marriage isn’t for you. No true relationship of love is for you. Love is about the person you love.

And, paradoxically, the more you truly love that person, the more love you receive. And not just from your significant other, but from their friends and their family and thousands of others you never would have met had your love remained self-centered.
Truly, love and marriage isn’t for you. It’s for others.

Friday Letters

Dear Baby H,

I love you SO much. However, I do not love it when you kick my ribs. I know it's crowded in there, but please punch away on anything else besides my ribs.

-Your mom with sore ribs

Dear Government,

You all are acting like a bunch of idiots. I'm pretty sure what the American people want LESS than a higher debt ceiling is for America to declare bankruptcy. 

Congratulations on acting like a bunchof 5 year olds and throwing tantrums 

because you aren't getting your way.

-Pissed off voter

Dear Wheat Market,

I like where you're headed. If you could just keep on going up, I'd appreciate it.

-An anxious farmer

Dear Husband,

I hope you guys are having a blast in Vegas! Wish I was there, but I'm pretty sure I

couldn't waddle my way down the Strip with the rest of you. And I might get weird looks

if I was trying to shake my tailfeather in the clubs. And all of the smoking in the casinos?

Probably not a great idea for me.

-Your super jealous wifey

Dear Coworkers,

THANK YOU for throwing my baby shower this coming weekend! However,

please do not embarrass me by making me do something ridiculous!

-Your coworker who loves karma

Dear Green Bay Packers,

If you could quit getting injured that would be great. See,

my husband and I are coming to see you play in about a week,

and we'd appreciate it if you were healthy enough to win the game.

-Packers fan 

Dear Fall Weather,

I am LOVING you right now! Cool days, scarves, heated seats, soup...love it all!

-Your cool-weather friend

Dear Readers,

Hope you all have a great weekend!

What It Means For Me

The government shutdown. It's what everyone is talking about these days. On one hand, I'm enjoying the fact that the price of wheat has gone up every day for the past week and a half. On the other hand, that's only cool for so long, because it's a short term solution to a long-term problem.

The shutdown is affecting everyone. If you haven't felt it yet, you eventually will. Being a farmer, it directly affects us as well

My blogger friend Jenn at Almost Gypsy Soul works for the USDA-Farm Service Agency. She wrote a great blog about it yesterday, so I thought I'd take bits and pieces from hers, and add in our beginning farmer experience to the mix. She told about the 15 different parts of the Farm Bill, which some of you may or may not have heard about.

1. Commodity - provides income support to growers of select commodities
2. Conservation - provides funding for farm environmental stewardship thought programs that improve management practices, retire less productive land and protect natural resources
3. Agricultural Trade & Food Aid - funds US agriculture export and international food assistance programs and various WTO obligations
4. Nutrition - covers domestic food, nutrition and commodity distribution programs such as food stamps and supplemental nutrition assistance as well as purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables in schools and expanded programs for farmers markets and urban gardens.
5. Farm Credit - offers direct and guaranteed loan program to farmers via 2 government related farm lenders the USDA Farm Service Agency and the Farm Credit System.
6. Rural Development - funds rural development loan and grant programs, the expansion of rural broadband, water infrastructure and promotes locally produced ag food products
7. Research - supports agricultural research and extension programs, including bio security and response, biotechnology and organic production
8. Forestry - fund USDA Forest Service programs that protects forests from threats, restore forests damaged by natural disasters and enhance public benefits from private forests.
9. Energy - supports the development of bio fuels refineries and research; helps farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses purchase renewable energy systems
10. Horticulture & Organic Agriculture - encourages the production and consumption of organic agriculture commodities
11. Livestock - addresses livestock disease prevention and food safety concerns and enhances electronic mandatory livestock reporting
12. Crop Insurance & Disaster Assistance - protects farmers from risks associated with adverse weather, weather related plant disease and insect infestation
13. Commodity Futures - covers re-authorization of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent agency that regulates commodity futures trading in the US
14. Miscellaneous - expands programs to assist limited resource and socially disadvantaged farmers and addresses rural development, agricultural labor supply and animal welfare.
15. Trade & Taxes - introduces numerous tax provisions affection conservation and commodity program payments, timber investment, bio fuel production and agricultural income.

Officially called 2008 Food, Conservation and Energy Act and dubbed the Farm Bill, although a very small percentage of the total bill actually goes to farmers and ranchers. See the graph shows that a majority, nearly 80% of the $ goes to food/nutrition for the food stamp program. There are several of these representations floating around, all varying slightly in specific numbers, however the disproportionate amounts are generally the same.

 

 

The items above I listed in bold are the ones that I have the knowledge to speak of that have directly affected us. I know some of the others have as well, but I'll stick to the ones I know for sure. 

 

#2: We deal directly with Conservation Reserve Project lands, which is where we get some of the hay that we feed our cows. The point is for these lands to sit and rest for awhile, so not all land is used for farming. It helps cut down on erosion, and keeps more nutrients in the soil. They also help supplement farmers with some money if they want to plant trees, shrubs or plants that help prevent soil erosion by building wind breaks.

 

#5: This is the most important one I'll talk about. Bottom line: If Patrick and I did not have the Farm Service Agency, we would not be farmers. FSA and the government is used as a last resort when it comes to funding. When we started out 3 years ago, we had to go to several banks with our farming business proposal, only to be rejected. FSA would not even touch us until we had been rejected by other financial institutions. You know how embarrassing that is? Going in and asking for an astronomical amount of money for a business, when you have no business history? And KNOWING that they're going to reject you? I mean, there are worse things, but it definitely wasn't my favorite thing to do.

So after we got the loan from FSA-and mind you, they don't GIVE us anything. What they do give is a very low-interest rate on our loan to help cut costs. Our first year we got bad weather and due to a glitch with our insurance that eliminated us from being covered under our plan, couldn't repay the loan, so they termed it out over several years. Anything we sell, the check comes back with our names and FSA's name on it. So basically we don't make any money until all of the money is paid back every year-which is how it should be.

 

They also have a limit of 7 years that we can borrow from them. We're in our 3rd year and have started working with a local bank, but FSA still had to basically co-sign our bank loan with us. The reason they try to help out with beginning farmers so much, is because our farmers are aging. There are a lot of old farmers and fewer young farmers. The world needs more food, and with less farmers that's going to be hard. They are trying to do what they can to help people get into farming. And if you think for one second it's easy...please, I invite you to come visit :)

 

#6: This will be brief: Last year the farm got a grant that helped pay for the installation of water lines and tanks in our pastures. Trenches were dug, line was laid, and now our cows get water all the time without us having to haul water to them every day, to multiple fields. This cuts down on gas, vehicle maintenance, electricity, and less dust in the air when driving down the county roads and fields.

#12: Remember when I told you our insurance had a glitch our first year of farming and we couldn't repay our loan? Because the USDA offers the NAP program, we had signed up for it and 2 years later were able to get a bunch of money from the NAP insurance that helped pay back our FSA loan. This was all weather-related and we had no control over it. Our crop insurance (that we are required to carry) had a clause for first year farmers that our insurance agent messed up, therefore we were not covered. So when the insurance companies deny us because we missed one deadline we didn't even know about, the government stepped in and was able to help us repay the loan. And for the record, we are still repaying our first year's loan.

 

And because we're such good farmers we like to listen to Rural Radio on SiriusXM...yes, there is such a thing. If you think the expiring Farm Bill won't affect you, think again. The laws will go back to what they were in the 1940's. We'll be getting paid about $14 per bushel of wheat (which is twice as much as it is now), you'll be paying $8 for a loaf of plain bread, and about $10 for a gallon of milk. And that's just the beginning of it.

 

Farming just doesn't happen.  Do we have nice things? Yes, but remember, I work a full time job, and so does Patrick, outside of our farm income. And both of these incomes make it so our farm can be successful.

 

And my final thought I'll leave you with is a question Jenn asked...

 

And my final question to you...Would you rather your tax dollar go to subsidize a hardworking farmer or rancher, working to provide a safe, affordable food supply who has fallen on hard times through weather related disaster or would you rather your tax dollar go to a growing food stamp program?

 

I Just Really Love You

Beef and Hormones

I know a lot of us hear a lot of different things about hormones in beef, beef is bad, blah blah blah.

In my opinion most of it is a load of crap. 

 (And this my friends, is literally a load of crap)

I'm a beef rancher. I love cows, we treat our cows very well, and if you've read on here for awhile you know that we name some of our cows. We also give our cows vaccines to help keep them from getting sick-particularly pneumonia and black leg-which is when their leg gets infected and will start rotting off. When they do happen to get sick, we nurse them back to health first and foremost by using vitamins, and only if we have to, antibiotics. Would you rather eat a healthy beef that you know was taken care of, or a sick cow that had to suffer because people want things "organic"? Again, that's just my opinion.

Stepping slightly down from my soap box...

So on the topic of beef and hormones I'm sure a lot of you have heard maybe one opinion or the other. Let me put things into perspective for you:

Knowing how difficult it is to explain hormone levels in beef to consumers,  with all the talk of nanograms and protein synthesis, etc. Nebraska rancher Joan Ruskamp, who is on the Beef Board for Farm Bureau found a great way to put hormones into perspective visually, by using M 'n' Ms. 

If you'd like to hear more about this topic or her interview, go HERE. 

Another great resource to learn more about this is from Jude Capper, a researcher at Montana State University. I've had the chance to hear her speak, and she's very knowledgeable. She is also a former vegan, and current beef lover. She has a website, www.bovidiva.com that has all sorts of useful information on this very topic. Including her research on this:

Source: www.bovidiva.com

Interesting, no? 

Your thoughts?

Is It Fall Yet?

I KNOW I am not alone in thinking this....I'm ready for fall.

I have talked to SO many people that are just over the summer, over the heat (even though its been relatively cool here this year) and are ready for everything that fall brings. 

As a farmer's wife, spring and summer are our busiest times of the year. Things are non-stop all day long. And on top of that, this time of year I have farmer's market stuff to do every night. I know I take that on voluntarily, but it's still a lot of work! Most days I go to work in the morning, run my errands during lunch of after work, then head home. Once I get home it's sometimes like going to my second job. Which it kind of is. 

First things first, I usually try to spend time in my garden and watering my flowers. These past couple weeks I've been baking and picking veggies. Usually at some point in the evening Patrick asks for my help doing something outside or running him here and there to a different field or to a different tractor. Oh, and we usually eat dinner at some point at night too. The point is, I am busting my butt until about 10 p.m. at night. It makes for long days!

Another thing with summer is that although we live in the middle of nowhere, we seem to get a LOT of visitors and company. A month ago we had my friend stay overnight at our house. 2 days later our cousin and his friends stayed at our house while they built a fence for us. Four days after that my family showed up for the week. Last week we had someone from Farm Bureau come stay the night as she was touring the area for information to put together for an article for their newsletter. And Friday this week I have a childhood friend coming to visit for 4 days. Friends, that makes for a lot of cleaning, cooking and bed sheet washing!! Oh, and I managed to fit 3 out-of-town weddings into the past month and a half too.

I am ready for life to SLOOOOOWWWW DOOOOOWWWWNNNN.

THAT is why I'm ready for fall!

Oh, plus all of the other amazing things like sweaters, scarves, boots, cooler weather, lazy evenings  where I have nothing to do, and snuggling up in a blanket with a good book. 

Have I mentioned we haven't even started harvest yet? Which will probably be a month long. Guess I better just suck it up for now and hold on tight cause the madness hasn't even started :)

Live Your Life

I've been thinking about this post for awhile now, and finally decided to write it. Starting towards the beginning of summer, we all tend to get a little bit busier. Vacations to plan, trips to take, family to see, spending time outside because the weather is finally nice. Or in my case, gardens to weed, farmers to feed. Which inevitably...leaves less time for blogging.

I know when I take a short break from blogging or don't post every day of the week that I feel bad for letting my readers down. Like they're expecting something from me, and I don't deliver. I started apologizing for taking a break and feeling bad because I was disappointing my readers.

I have seen this more and more the past couple months among other bloggers. Apologizing for not posting every day of the week, apologizing for not commenting back on every single comment. Let's be real-it's pretty easy for me to reply back to all of the comments I get because there's usually no more than 6 or 7 on any given day. And that's a good day for me. Believe me-I am TOTALLY fine with that. For bigger blogs who get upwards of 30 comments per day, I can see where that would start to take a toll on their time.

People, we are ALL busy. We are busy living our lives...so why do we keep apologizing for that? If we weren't out having a great time, we wouldn't have great things to blog about.

It's OKAY if our blog moves to the back burner for a little bit while we're off having a great time. Stop apologizing for it!

So go ahead and be a great wife, a great mom, a great family member, a great worker. Live you life! And when you decide to come back, the rest of us will all still be here waiting to hear all of the great stories, adventures and memories you've created while you have been away. THOSE are what makes a great blog :)

Do Good Anyways

Saw this yesterday on a friend's Facebook wall. Sometimes we all get caught up in the drama of things, and are unkind to others. We may lash out at others, and say mean things about them. I'm guilty of it, and I don't think I know a person who is not guilty of this.

Let's strive to be kind anyway, and try to be a positive example for others.

Soul Food Friday

My fellow blogger Jennifer at Almost Gypsy Soul came up with this idea of Soul Food Friday for the last Friday of the month. I told her to remind me this month and I'd link up with her, so here we are! Link up with us if you'd like!

Anything that motivates you, speaks to you or generally gets you excited about life.....share it at Soul Food Friday!

So when I originally saw this post, I thought it was literally talking about Soul Food...and me and food...I believe Forrest Gump said it best, "We's go together like peas and carrots." Peanut Butter and Jelly..A1 sauce and anything...

So today I'm going to talk about my love affair with cooking. I love to cook. Anything and everything. I watch Top Chef, Chopped, and any other cooking show on TV. When I go on Pinterest, my favorite thing to pin is recipes. I preordered both of Pioneer Woman's cookbooks. After I get my Taste of Home magazine every other month, I immediately cut out all of the recipes I would actually cook and file them away in my recipe box. And my idea of a good time is sitting on the couch, bundled up in a blanket with a diet Dr. Pepper and a new cookbook. I wish I was kidding. 

I even submitted a recipe to Healthy Cooking magazine, which is a subsidiary of Taste of Home, and it was chosen to be published in the 2014 Health Cooking Cookbook.

The thing I love about cooking is the hunt for a good recipe. I browse hundreds of recipes, looking for something just right that will fit into my scope of what I like to make. When I find the recipe, I then file it away. When I'm wanting to feel inspired or try something new, I dig through my recipe box, look through  my cookbooks, or browse my Pinterest list. When I find "THE ONE" I write out a grocery list. 

Once I get everything bought and the dish made, I can't describe the feeling of accomplishment I get. I love trying new things, and it's even better when they turn out to be delicious. I take pictures of the stuff, and of course then blog about it or Instagram it :)

I don't know why, but I just LOVE the feeling I get after trying a new recipe and loving it. It's so weird, I wish I could describe it better...kinda like the feeling after you just nailed a presentation at work. It's like I get a natural high from it. I'm an odd duck, it's fine.

So naturally, I'm going to share one of my new recipes that I've tried and like. It's even better because it's a great way to use up some of the leftover ham from the holidays when that time comes around.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Source

I did make some changes to the recipe...I cut the recipe in half since I was only feeding two of us. I also used swiss cheese that I grated myself instead of sliced swiss, and I used leftover Easter ham instead of slices of ham lunchmeat.

•  Coat 13x9 pan with cooking spray
• Spread 2 cups of cooked rice on the bottom of the pan
• Spread 3 cups of cooked chicken over that
• Sprinkle 1 1/2 Cups of grated swiss cheese over the chicken
• Spread 1 Cup of diced ham over the cheese
• Mix 1 can Cream of Chicken soup, 1/4 Cup milk and 1/2 Cup sour cream together and spread on top of the ham
• Crush 15 ritz crackers and mix with 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic salt, and 1/2 tsp parsley. Mix and sprinkle over the soup mix.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes!     

 What feeds your soul?

Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain

This isn't meant for anything specific going on, I just found it and had to share. No matter what friends, when bad things happen, you will learn from it. It might consume your life for a little while or even a long time. But just keep your head up, keep praying, and everything will be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end.

...I Believe...

...I believe in the power of prayer...

...I believe that everyone deserves a second chance...

...I believe in miracles-I've seen one with my own eyes...

...I believe a long hot shower is good to clear your mind...

...I believe that a good snuggle session with your pups can instantly make you feel better...

...I believe in unconditional love...

...I believe God has a plan, and Jesus is the answer...

...I believe in a big, fat, ugly cry...

...I believe it's ok to be surrounded by complete silence...

...I believe in trying to see the good in everyone...

...I believe in every trial and situation, there is something to be learned...

...I believe that sometimes you will always have to be the bigger person when it comes to your relationships with different people...

...I believe in working hard instead of taking the easy way out...

...I believe that you always need to take time for yourself...

...I believe in giving 100% of yourself in every situation and relationship...

...I believe it's ok to get lost in a book or TV show just to escape your own life for a bit...

...I believe we are our own worst enemy and harshest critic at times...

...I believe every person is beautiful, in their own way...

...I believe in being kind...

...I believe in standing up for what is right, even if you're standing alone...

...I believe in being a leader, not a follower...

...I believe that sometimes it's better to just keep your mouth shut and your thoughts to yourself...

...I believe in myself...

What do you believe?

This is Good Stuff Right Here

A friend posted this on Facebook the other day. Any married person, engaged person, or person thinking they want to get married, should read this and REALLY, I mean REALLY take it to heart.

Not only that stuff, but learning to apologize and give forgiveness when it is due.

That's all for today friends. Happy Weekend!

Be the Change: A Challenge

Lately I have been thinking a lot...which can be scary. Just ask my husband.

When it comes to the blog world, real life, marriage, relationships, etc. do we not all try to be the best person we can be? Certainly we don't try to be terrible people, but sometimes we mess up and make bad decisions. Whether it's being selfish when it comes to your relationship, not leading by example, or just plain being rude to someone, we all have to admit that we've done it.

The hard part is, how do we change this behavior? Lately, I have really been working on some things for myself. I have a tendency to gossip and judge other people too much. It's really not a great thing, and I hate that I do it. So how can I change? I'm trying to stop myself in the moment when I realize I'm doing it. If we don't want other people to do this, and if we want other people to treat us with respect, we must first show it.

Be the change. You only have control over YOU, so YOU need to do the changing. BE THE EXAMPLE.

This doesn't just apply to my situation and me. Be patient when you have to wait for 10 minutes at the deli counter at the grocery store even if there are 8 people working there and only one is doing something. Don't just step over the piece of garbage on the ground-pick it up. Open the door for someone. Make a habit of giving compliments. Be nice when you're dealing with a company's customer service department. Let someone cut in line in front of you if they look like they're in a hurry. Whether they appreciate it or not, you're leading by example and you did the right thing.

Be nice. Be thoughtful. Be empathetic. Be compassionate.

I challenge all of YOU to be the change. Set the example.