Whitedove Gannon

The Farm That Built Me Whitedove Gannon

I have a confession: Making one of (if not the most) significant decisions of our lives was done without much consideration and next to no communication between my husband and I. We were at a place in our lives where change was necessary. FYI: That's code for 'our construction business was in trouble'. If you have ever been in the position of knowing your job (whether a business you own or a position you hold) is teetering on the edge, you know what I'm talking about when I say we were ready for a change. We were hungry for something...anything other than bids, invoices, permits, and jobsites. Trying to figure things out while trying not to think too hard about it was exhausting. Plus on top of that, we had three small children and one on the way, which if you don't already know, is a fulltime job in and of itself. Our longing for change, an escape, started taking off on a path neither of us would have ever imagined. We wouldn't have imagined it because neither of us had ever even hinted at being interested farming. Farming? Wait! Where did that come from? It came from an idealistic fantasy (mostly mine) that farming was about living off the land and being one with nature. Oh, and did I mention I thought it would be easy, as in come naturally, since 'nature' and 'natural' sound so much alike?In all fairness to myself, I didn't drag Bill and the kids away from Colorado kicking and screaming. Okay, so the kids did a bit of screaming, not because we moved, but because they were kids. Anyway... Our quest for adventure that would lead to a simpler, less stressful life, a life in which we could be somewhat self-sustaining, and a life that would allow us to learn and grow as a family, was waiting for us so we went. To Kansas. While we certainly wouldn't have put it in these terms, our move to Kansas to become farmers was our attempt to become better leaders. Better leaders of ourselves and of our family. Turns out there was just one not-so-little problem with that plan: we didn't have a clue about what we were getting in to. Each chapter of this book defines and examines a fundamental truth of what makes a leader. Equally important, each chapter of this book offers encouragement, instruction, and a call to action on how you can claim this fundamental and make it part of who you are.