Keeping My World Big

I know this may sound a little weird, but I’ve been trying to get better at patting myself on the back.

Not for little things, but for doing the things I know are important, even when I’d rather avoid them.

Recently, that meant getting a lung cancer screening after smoking on and off through my teens, 20s, and 30s. Having recently lost my stepbrother to lung cancer made it feel even more important.

So I booked it. I did it. And afterward, I was feeling pretty healthy and maybe even a little invincible.

Then, about two hours later, I was walking up the driveway when I noticed what looked like a piece of culvert pipe near the embankment.

I stepped down to take a closer look and quickly realized it wasn’t a pipe at all.

It was a ground nest of yellow jackets that a bear had dug up.

If you know me, you know I am deathly allergic to yellow jackets. And, stupidly, I didn’t have my EpiPen with me.

In the blink of an eye, I went from feeling pretty darn good to feeling incredibly vulnerable and incredibly lucky.

This is what I almost knelt down to investigate. Needless to say, I backed away pretty quickly.

For the next few days, I was nervous about walking through the grass. I even hesitated to get on the lawn mower.

And then I realized something.

Fear had made my world smaller.

I don’t like having my world shrunk.

That’s why staying strong, taking care of my health, protecting my mental well-being, and taking reasonable precautions all matter to me.

Not because I want to live cautiously.

Because I want to keep working, learning, exploring, and making my world bigger for as long as I can.

One More Thing

I also recently had the opportunity to share more about Howling Flats Farm on Women Farmers In Focus.

Listen here:
Women Farmers In Focus Pt. 9 - Howling Flats Farm

Here’s to keeping our worlds as big as we can.