I sent this out to my farmers that are subscribed to my Cotton Club Newsletter this morning and wanted to share it here as well. It kind of summarizes how our family choses to celebrate Christmas moving forward.
It was during Christmas break two years ago that I was on the phone w/ my dad discussing my son’s “Santa Claus shopping” that I had wrapped up that week. I can remember the joy in his voice knowing everything was taken care of and would be delivered in time for Christmas morning. I had no idea that it would be the last time I would get to speak to him. He passed away later that evening from a massive heart attack. Christmas was his thing, he loved it. Losing him this time of year and actually burying him on my 52nd birthday drastically changed the way that I view the holidays.
Fortunately, I spoke to my dad on the phone multiple times a day and we would end each conversation telling each other we loved them. I’m blessed to have tons of fun memories to recall. It was over the course of that next year that my view of how we celebrate Christmas in our family changed. My dad was all about making Christmas special for everyone, he always went overboard to put it mildly. An example, I can remember one year we had my son’s miniature pony walking around the house while everyone opened their gifts. While the gifts everyone received were always thoughtful and amazing, they were just temporary things. I can’t tell you what I got for Christmas last year but the memories that were made last forever. Now that I’m older, I understand their value.
It’s for this reason that my mom, wife, and son pack up and hit the road during Christmas week. We actually leave out on my birthday, December 21st. We always try to pick somewhere we know that we are going to have a great time and make lots of memories. I know that it sounds easier to pack up and get out of town and skip the countless commitments during Christmas week but I promise you it’s the opposite…
This past year my mom had hip replacement surgery and her recovery was going well until her hip popped out and she had to be airlifted to Little Rock to be popped back into place. Just when we thought we were out of the woods and ready to continue onto our trip she accidentally popped it out of place again and we had to repeat the process again. Thankfully, she recovered much quicker her second time around and was insistent that we continue on with our plans.
For those of you that might not be aware, my son is on the autism spectrum and has some mild sensory issues. It’s sometimes a challenge when planning a vacation to find things that we know he is going to enjoy. This season we decided on Wisconsin Dells, and it didn’t disappoint. We accomplished our goal, thousands of happy memories were made this past week. We didn’t take a moment for granted and took every opportunity to honor our savior and thank him for the countless blessings he’s blessed us with.
It would be easy to dwell on the past year and all of the challenges we’ve faced but once we all wrap our heads around the fact that it does no good to dwell on the past when all of our hope and dreams exist in the future things come in a little clearer as to what we should do.
In closing, I urge you to do the same… keep looking forward. Let’s look ahead to 2026 and make plans for it to be our best season yet. Whatever your “best season” looks like is defined by your individual hopes and dreams. It might be renewed relationships, it might be something as simple as success in business or just knowing your kids are going to be okay. I know that there is a lot of uncertainty in the ag industry. Heck, the industry is broken in so many areas I don’t know where to start. I do know that there’s little we can do to change things by ourselves. I know it’s hard to do but I challenge you to spend some times thinking forward with the absence of these challenges and how much different life might be. Just continue to do your part and stand on your faith in this new season that challenges we face today will be remedied tomorrow. It’s healthier, I promise. Remember the saying, tough times don’t last, but tough people do… if you are receiving this email, take this as your confirmation that you are a tough person.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.