Patio Pondering: Saying Yes

This morning, my coffee is strong as usual, and I enjoyed the first sips as I gazed across the pre-dawn landscape while waiting for my son to finish getting ready for school. The snow is melting, but what is left gives a beautiful patina to our backyard and the surrounding fields.

With the recent snow and glimpses of the coming winter, all the “No’s” in my life have been weighing on me. No’s from family, friends, job interviews, potential business partners, and many more. When life throws you curveballs and the path you are on isn’t the one you planned, it is easy to get caught in the quicksand of negativity, second-guessing past decisions and actions.

But this morning, as we quickly approach Thanksgiving, I want to focus on the Yes’s, the yes’s that make my life better.

Over the past 15 months, I have said YES to a lot of job opportunities. Unfortunately, none of the employers complimented with their own yes. Those No’s have given me time to explore other Yes’s, though.

The most obvious YES is my writing. This journey of sharing thoughts and reflections through my daily Patio Ponderings has expanded my writing skills and opened my soul and thoughts to anyone willing to read them.

I said YES to setting up my own consulting, staying open to new ways I can help the swine industry with my skills and experience.

I said YES when my gut told me I needed a website presence for Patio Pondering. Expanding my skills as a “web designer” was a stretch for me, but it has become another creative outlet.

Using artificial intelligence to help me create is a huge YES, especially for a Gen Xer. While some of my friends are lamenting AI and all the “computer gadgets,” I am using it daily, and it has made me a better writer, scientist, and communicator.

I said YES when Todd Thurman and Ryan Martin encouraged me to start podcasting. That opened my communication repertoire in ways I never imagined. My interviewing skills have grown, and that growth has carried over into conversations with family and friends as well.

On our farm, I have said YES to expanding our use of stewardship practices like cover crops and no-till. I have also said YES to promotion, actively looking for opportunities to add more acres instead of sitting back and waiting for them to find us.

With my family, I have said YES, attending marching band competitions recently when things at home could have easily occupied my time. That is alongside all the other YES’s that help our family navigate our hectic lives together.

I continue to say YES to friends and my community. They add rich colors to our life using a palette I could never craft myself, whether it is our Fair Folk family, Boy Scouts and the Philmont crew, 4-H, or simply stepping up to help a neighbor in need.

There will be a two-week pause to my daily Patio Ponderings because I said YES to an opportunity to help a friend with his business overseas.

The quicksand is still there; life will always have its pull, but each YES is a step forward, a vine to pull yourself out of the muck and toward solid ground again.