Driving back from White Water Rafting today, I was once again hit with a pang of sadness--as has become routine for me lately--as we drove through the rolling hills and fields and by countless red barns with harvestore silos reaching to the sky.  I love my life so much right now; am so excited about the hundred million things I have going on; but can't help but miss the way things were when I had Holstein Club activities every weekend, Dairy Leader farm tour trips, and cow shows in the summers.

My old self, the self of the "farm culture," is still very much me--ask any of my roommates, and they will wholeheartedly agree.  They would probably tell you I aspire to be a redneck more than I do a Spanish teacher.  But, while the sentiments and the roots are still there; the new experiences just aren't, and it makes me sad. 

Last fall and winter I had the opportunity to attend several dairy/agricultural banquets for various reasons, and began to realize just how out-of-touch with the agricultural community I had become as well as how much I love being a part of it.  At Sammy's State Dairy Princess Pageant, I felt it again.  And ever since then, the mere sight of a farm whizzing by while I cruise along on the Thruway or even a calcium commercial on the radio sends my mind into memory mode.

I can't imagine how my life would be had I not grown up on a farm. It is very much a culture of its own; with its own language, its own customs, and its own attitudes.  But even more so, I can't imagine how my life would be not living on a farm forever--and I don't want to imagine it.  How I plan to accomplish that with my Spanish Education major from Nazareth College of Rochester is a mystery to me, but by golly, I've got to think of something! 

Maybe I'll take Nathan and Dad up on their offer to be their translator when they hire Latinos after their hypothetical herd expansion.  That's likely.

I guess I've just got to find me a farm boy.  So God, if you're reading this: if that guy you designed for me isn't going to be a farmer, can I make an exchange?