When I was a kid growing up on a farm in North Dakota we used to do something at the beginning of every summer that we called “working cattle.” When I say “we” I mean my dad and all the farmers and ranchers that lived near us. But it felt like “we” because it was a fun day for my siblings, cousins and me. It would start early, all the neighbors would come, and they would get to work each doing their specialty with the cows, branding, vaccinating, dehorning, all the things that you do when you “work cattle.” As kids we would be running around, watching, sometimes getting to be part of the action when my dad needed us to run here or there for him. As we got older, we would be assigned a specific job for the day. My mom would cook a huge lunch for everyone, and then they would head out after lunch for more work. The day would culminate with a big dinner. I have vivid memories of everyone coming together, helping each other, talking, laughing, putting in a full day’s work to help my dad. Then another day it would be my dad’s turn to help another farmer/rancher “work” his cattle. That’s just what they did. This was community at its finest, and I not only loved being a part of it, but I felt proud to be a part of it.
My husband, Mike, has been spending a lot of time in the mountains for work. He works with a non profit, and they are putting on a charity pond hockey tournament in Silverthorne next weekend. Last week he asked me if I’d go to the mountains with him on Saturday to help paint boards for the tournament. Mostly so we could spend time together as he’s been gone a lot. I immediately thought about saying no. “Ella has poms practice. I need to take down the Christmas decorations. It’s the last weekend before school starts.” These were all the thoughts running through my mind. All the excuses about why I shouldn’t go, why I should stay home. Thankfully I pretty quickly realized that spending time with my husband and supporting him and his work was important, and I agreed to go.
We arrived in Silverthorne on Saturday morning and pulled up to this warehouse where a whole group of people had already gathered and were hard at work. I asked Mike who everyone was and he said he wasn’t sure. He knew a handful of them because he has been working closely with some of the local people involved with his non profit and with the pond hockey tournament. However, there were many others that he didn’t know. I heard Mike ask his friend, George, how he got so many people to come and help and George said very simply, “I asked them if they wanted to help us, and they showed up.” Not only did they show up but they worked their butts off all day painting boards, building benches, putting together pieces of the rink. It was once again people coming together, helping each other, talking, laughing and putting in a full day’s work to make this tournament a success. It was community at its finest, and it reminded me of how I grew up.
As for me, the one who was initially hesitant to say yes to going. Well, I got to spend the day with these people working right alongside them. I got to experience their community, to be a part of it for a day. It was such a gift, and I was proud to be a part of it if even for a day. It was a reminder to me about the power of community. How important it is to belong to something. How powerful it is to serve together in community. How community makes us better.
My sisters and I envision Like A Sister to be a community for all of us. In order to build community we need to connect. That’s why we’ve created the Like A Sister Facebook group. We hope you will join this group page with us and get connected. https://www.facebook.com It’s here that we can experience sisterhood and talk about all the things sisters talk about. We’ll be hanging out there, and we hope you will, too. Let’s make 2020 a year of community and connection, a year where we are better together, a year where we support and encourage one another, a year where we help others feel like they belong. Are you in? https://www.facebook.com/groups/2182734028690186/
