Dairy farmer: “We employ 15 Mexicans here.” Me: “Oh, are they all from Mexico?” Dairy farmer: “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Me: “Then they’re not all Mexicans. That’s like calling me Canadian just because I’m a white girl.”

Thirteen and a half years. I made it 13 and a half years without questioning the curriculum in our school district. Then my oldest son took an AP environmental science (APES) class this year as a senior.

At the dairy, there are so many intricate parts that it’s easy to have this law entangle your life. What am I talking about? Surely you have read about this before. You have either read about this or experienced it firsthand. You may remember this law, which states that any object can become entangled with another object without any rhyme or reason.

Burnout was never a word that crossed my mind. Sure, I’ve felt tired, worn down, unmotivated and sometimes a little sad, especially this last year. However, when a friend and co-worker of mine recommended I read Can’t even: How millennials became the burnout generation by Anne Helen Petersen, something inside me just clicked. I knew I needed that book.

There are many, many voices crying out in our world today, telling us which way we should go. These voices come from our schools, universities, governments and news sources, as well as many other places.

How many votes could represent the majority of America’s dairy farmers in a hearing concerning federal dairy regulations? The correct answer is 10. How can that be, you ask?

As 2020 drew to a close, there was a confluence of things on the farm and in my life, combined with my off-the-farm work experience, that got me to thinking about some things I would have considered pretty radical only a few short years ago. But, time, perspective and the fallout of COVID-19 have caused me to look at some things differently.

If you’re anything like me, sometimes farming can consume you. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but farming has a tendency to throw us challenges, long hours and a long list of to dos. It seems as if there is always something else that can be done.

I grew up on a dairy farm and have been around cows my whole life. I learned at an early age how to properly care for and handle cows.