I haven’t written a post since the HarvestHER retreat in March. A lot has happened since then!
So, I will tell you the good, the bad and the ugly! (Dillon’s favorite old movie)
I guess I will start in order.
The bad: We hired two kids from Indiana in March and they worked hard here at home helping us build new corrals and work cattle. Dillon headed to North Dakota on April 7th and the hired hands went with him. They worked there till April 28th and quit!
I think the hardest thing for harvesters (and, really, any business right now) is trying to find good help. We have had some really GREAT kids work with us over the years but we have also had a few doozies too. Honestly though, for the most part, our hired hands have all been good kids but they leave before the job is done!
What we do is hard work and long hours and it just seems like you can’t find kids willing to put in the time and effort anymore! What happened to commitment? Okay, enough on that! I get pretty upset just thinking about it!
The good: Spring was full of track meets and soccer games. Since covid hit last year, Colston did not get to run track so this was his first year and he did great. He was in long jump, high jump, 4 x 400 relay, 4 x 800 relay and 100 meter dash. They had three track meets this year and he medaled in all of these events! I really enjoyed watching him this season.
Riggin’s soccer team did really well this season, too. He played two games every Saturday and there was only one team that beat them so they ended up second in the league. I always loved playing sports but getting to watch your kids play and enjoy sports is pretty amazing too!
The end of the school year is always such a busy time! Our boys got out on May 13th and, for two weeks,“ it seemed like we were meeting ourselves coming and going. Field trips, awards banquets, science fair, AR parties, and for Colston, the ringing of the bell to dismiss school for his last day in elementary.
At the awards banquet, Colston received a pretty big award. I was so proud when I heard his name. The Masonic Fraternity award is voted on by teachers and school staff. It is awarded to a student that exemplifies outstanding scholarship, leadership, citizenship, and integrity. There are 52 students in sixth grade and it was awarded to two boys and two girls. It was a very proud mom-moment for sure! Riggin also received “Student of the Month” for May and both boys made the principal’s honor roll.
The ugly: Working on a farm/ranch is not a glamorous job! It is hard work for endless hours a day doing jobs that never seem to get done…for no daily pay. Some days, I feel like all I do is work calves, build fence, and feed/water cattle! It’s all necessary, but there is so much more that needs to be done and just not enough man power or hours in the day to accomplish it all. And when you leave for six months at a time, you get home and the projects have snowballed and you play catch-up to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Most days, you just have to take a breath, get done what you can and leave the rest for tomorrow.
On the 20th, I am flying to North Dakota to help Dillon move home. Because our hired hands quit, we have more vehicles to drive home then Dillon can get by himself. I am SO EXCITED to see Dillon, however, I HATE flying and I am going to be a nervous wreck until I step foot off the plane in North Dakota.
With all that being said, I wouldn’t trade my way of life. I have a husband who loves me deeply, two amazing kids who will know hard work and sacrifice and be better for it and a successful business that has taken us to some neat places where we’ve made some life-long friends! Our lifestyle is not for the faint-of-heart nor for the homebody type person. It’s a lifestyle that I naïvely got into at the age of 21 because I fell in love with Dillon and, praise God, I fell in love with harvest, too. Had I not, my life would be a struggle because harvest isn’t just something you do – it’s a way of life that gets in your blood.
Harvest has started for some crews already and we will be starting in June here around home. I pray that my fellow harvesters have a safe and blessed harvest season.
Best wishes,
Kylee DeBock
“The Lord is good; he protects his people in times of trouble; he takes care of those who turn to him.”
Nahum 1:7 GNT
