I have tried to map out my life. every detail. If there is one thing I have learned, life doesn't work that way. It doesn't go 'as planned'. I am learning to be ok with that. I get down on myself when things get off course.

The past 2 days I needed some escape, some relaxation. I needed to do something to get me out of my own head - even if it is just for a few hours. So, I went for the comforts of my childhood home. That is always my safe place. I can go there and do absolutely nothing except watch Brayden play and laugh and it does the trick. It lifts me from my slump.

I made a few observations during my visit.

We have had a few storms here in the Midwest - but, very little rain. We need rain. Bad. The wind storm shook the trees, and left a lot of fruit on the ground. So, we picked up buckets full of fallen apples and pears that couldn't hold on. It made me sad. There was a lot of fruit that would have been delicious, had it been given some more nurturing, but it didn't work out that way. I picked a few pears off the ground. A few bruises, but still had potential. I thought maybe a few days on the window sill, some extra nurturing from the sun, and they just might make it. Those pears made me think of my dreams and plans for the future. They get shaken up by the storm, by multiple storms. Some fall away and have to be tossed. Then, there are some that may be bruised - but, with some nurturing can still make it. And yet, there are those that no matter how bad the storm, how strong the wind - they cling on. They hold strong. Determined to come to fruition.

Looking around at the very dry ground - and walking ontop of crispy brown grass, It is hard to see how the damages from mother nature can ever be repaired. Corn and soybeans are my families livelihood - the drought is hard to stomach. But, the corn is growing. Soybeans are growing. They are determined. They are resilient. As too, are my parents. They have (unfortunately) been down this road a few other times. I can still recall the drought of '88. I was only 5, but I remember running my fingers along the cracks of the hard, dry ground. Not really knowing the magnitude of the hurt, but feeling that it wasn't good. Best of all, I remember dancing in the rain when mother nature finally decided we had waited long enough. That's life. Through the storms, through the wind and rain (or lack of rain) we all learn how to stand our ground and hold tight. As you look around, it is easy to see we aren't alone in it. The corn, the beans, the apples, and pears - they are not alone, they share the trouble with those around them - and they weather it; together.