Beating the Heat, Not Burning Out

I’m sitting in a local coffee shop, sipping on a drink that they informed me would be a sweet latte (exactly what I was after), and I’m trying to decide what made me think that July would be a good month to voluntarily write a blog post. After all, there are 12 months in the year, and I’m right in the middle of our busiest season, it seems. And maybe, just maybe … that’s why I’m slowing down to write this. You might relate.

We had our local county fair two weeks ago. My kids are 14, 12, and 8 years old. The older two show market steers, and the youngest (still a Cloverbud) decided that what she wanted more than anything in the world was to showcase her chicken, Felicia. We had high hopes that Felicia was, as we were told, a female, so she could live up to her name. Felicia behaved, and Laney was all smiles. We’ll see if she ever lays any eggs for us.

The kids also took a few projects from the garden, created a scrapbook, and baked some fresh banana bread. The 8-year-old made the banana bread and, before the judge could even ask a question, the child asked if she could have the first bite. I hope I’m always thankful for her confidence and directness.

County fairs are a lot. But then we added in a trip from North Dakota to Oklahoma for the National Jr High Rodeo Finals before the fair was even completely over … and that seemed like maybe just a little too much.

We took in the county fair for five days and then headed straight to Guthrie, Oklahoma for another eight days. Seventeen hours away from home. Can anyone say, “Yeehaw!”?

I should mention now that I’m a certified Mental Health First Aid instructor. And I’m a certified speaker, trainer, and mindset coach with the John Maxwell Leadership Team. Why does that matter? I actually believe those two credentials have given me the opportunity to move through life and business a little differently than most.

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