Lessons From Our Rural Moms Part 1

I'm not sure what it is about a mom that makes her so extraordinary. Maybe it is her ability to seemingly effortlessly pull off amazing feats of organization or that look she can give you from clear across a crowded room that lets you know you should knock.  it.  off.  right.  now. Or, perhaps it is the magic her kisses possess to make all of the ouchies go away. Whatever it is, I can tell you there is something special about the women we are lucky enough to call mom. For the next couple of days, in honor of Mother's Day, we will share a few stories about rural moms, because I'm sure you will all agree, rural moms have a completely different set of challenges to conquer!


Farm Mom (noun): jack-of-all-trades, keeper of all things, multi-tasker, marathon runner

While growing up, my mom was a stay-at-home mom. Remember those forms you’d have to fill out for school that asked for your parents’ occupations? She wrote Farm Mom in that field and would comment, “I wonder if anyone reads these things.”

At the time I never appreciated all the things she did. Somehow she managed to keep the home fires burning while my dad traveled quite a bit for his job. In addition to keeping things running on our beef farm, she was a member of community groups, church committees and helped with school activities. Like a marathon runner, she could dash outside, do chores and be done just in time to change her clothes, pause momentarily to ask ‘Does my hair smell like the barn?’ before running a kid to town for some evening extracurricular activity. She could fly around her kitchen and whip together a well-rounded meal better than any mom I knew. And if you were that kid she ran to town earlier, she’d most likely remember to come pick you up!

She taught me many life lessons but here’s a few I wanted to share:

  › You can do anything you set your mind to
  › Quitting isn’t an option
  › Wearing nail polish in the show ring isn’t appropriate (I’m not sure where she came up with this one?)

  › Be respectful, kind and courteous to everyone because you never know where you might run across them later in life
  › She [attempted] to teach me how to cook one meal each summer, although I’m still not a good cook.

Today, as a mom myself, I aspire to be just like her. To keep the home fires burning while my husband travels, be respectful to everyone I meet and make sure my hair doesn’t smell too much like the barn!

Here's my mom participating in Mom Showmanship (circa 1993) and it doesn't appear she was wearing nail polish. Practicing what she preached!