The Storm Have you ever stood outside during a tornado? NOTHING LIKE IT- I LIVE for these moments. Growing up in the Midwest we appreciate and fear tornadoes. While they aren’t often; they can be very destructive. I recall many a childhood nights spent in my parents’ musky basement after a storm warning. That huddling together made us bond; I never thought about it as much until now. I always wanted to be outside watching the storm. I recall my older sister Kathleen yelling for me to come back in. I was naïve to the destruction; if I would have been lifted into the twister I would have ..read more

Travel Light STUFF. We ALL have way too much of it. Our houses are packed full of it. At the end, we can’t take it with us.   WHY do we all hang on to these tangible memories? WHAT is holding us back from the FAITH of what is next?   Let’s face it. As many “options” as you want to carry; Baggage is a burden. I used to pack 12 pairs of shoes for a weeklong vacation. Nice to have options but baggage is HEAVY. LITERALLY AND PHYSICALLY.   No wonder most of us have anxiety. Let alone those of us who work in real estate! People have more STUFF in their house than they can cram ..read more

Baptism by FIRE Nearly every Sunday at 11am Mass (we call this the Childrens’ Mass here at All Saints Parish because the constant chatter of youngsters permeates the room) an infant is baptized into the Catholic Faith. I am always in awe of the new life this child breathes into our ever thriving parish community. Generally baptisms follow a predictable pattern and afterwards the family stands proudly in the front of the church while the priest announces the newest member. Applause proceeds and mass continues. Ta Da! Success. Today I reflected on my personal baptism experience. For no p ..read more

Cliven Bundy My cultural heroes are John Wayne and Cliven Bundy. The latter is less known. Don’t get me on a roll. Especially about the government, small business regulations, or the entitled. DANGEROUS TERRITORY. Cliven Bundy. AMERICAN LEGEND. Wikipedia can fill you in. READ IT. Cliven Bundy owned a huge cattle ranch in Nevada that abutted “Federal Grazing Land.” He was definitely anti-government (me too, me three, four) and for self-sovereign states. Ok, Nevada is mostly desert. It’s not like he had a lot of neighbors with whom to interact. Look at the map out west of what the “Bureau of ..read more

Commencement Many have confused the definition of this word. So many of us obscure it with the end of something. When we graduated high school we saw it as the end of days with many friends and close teachers. The time for a young adult to spread their wings and take on the world but with SO MANY goodbyes. My youngest brother Mitchell did not get to have his college graduation because of COVID. Mom organized a commencement ceremony in my parents’ barn instead. We all wore our graduation caps. It was even more special because it was personal and fun. We have good parents. Commencement means ..read more

Hay Delivery This one is FUN- I buy my horse hay from a good friend/neighbor. Actually, TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE: Gregg Callahan. He has like 9 siblings. Once I saw a photo of one of his brothers in the Beacon Newspaper from the Dairy Judging Team that won at the state and I commented on it to Gregg. He said, “Which one?” Can you imagine having this many siblings? I thought I was special being one of 5. Not so much in the Saint Leon area, apparently. I went to bed around midnight on July 4th and was awakened by a hard pounding on my door around 4:15AM. This is a Monday morning. I had 17 missed cal ..read more

Survivors Life has a way of keeping you (and the universe) in balance. Lately life has forced me to slow down and smell the roses. Those who know me – should know this is a struggle. I have a natural anxiety that drives me to feel the need to be constantly busy, please everyone, succeed, grow the businesses, perfect my household, find a worthy mate, maintain and grow a large social circle, and definitely a “fear of missing out.” Our cell phones are largely to blame for these thoughts and they are 100% NOT uncommon. Luckily, life intervenes when we most need it. Even when we think we are str ..read more

True Grit I collect John Wayne memorabilia. My fascination with the DUKE started from a young age and when I first watched the movie “McKlintock!” it was even more solidified. That is a good one.   I knew he was my role model for life.   What does the word GRIT mean anyways?   Thoughts I have while I vacuum the dog hair off my stairs.   GRIT is one of my favorite words: an adjective. A person that endures hardship and instead of being a victim, PREVAILS even greater from it. Learns to accept the battle scars. Picks up those around them and carries on. A soldier ..read more

The Judging Team I joined the livestock judging team at Purdue my Junior Year.   With ZERO EXPERIENCE.   I made some lifelong friends from this adventure.   Sure, I showed pigs and cattle in 4-H and attended other shows, but I was never in FFA, nor did I go to Junior College to judge. Every single one of my teammates had done one or the other.   How hard could it be? I am very good at winging “reasons” on the fly.   Turns out, some people take this VERY SERIOUSLY. And I don’t mean to discount this (just making light!)   Especially, Coach Matthew Claeys ..read more

Rantoul My friend Catherine is more like a soul mate to me. We GET each other! From cattle shows to vacations, ghost tours, we have done it all. Catherine has a heart of gold and a mouth like a sailor. LOVE her. Her dad died a few years back and she inherited his prized John Deere Tractor. She loved her Dad dearly. We are going to the “Half Century of Progress Show” in Rantoul, IL in late August and staying in an RV. Taking his (now her’s) show tractor. THIS should be an experience. I love legacies that live on after death. Isn’t that why we are alive? To tell the stories of the ones that we ..read more