Change can be exciting or it can be intimidating. Beginning with this issue you will see some changes in our publication as we are merging our two papers into one. I am excited for this change as we will be able to share neighbor stories and features from all of our coverage area in every issue.
New beginnings and adventures are exciting most of the time and I hope our readers enjoy a larger publication with a broader range of stories to read and enjoy.
Speaking of new adventures, my husband, who is not well versed in technology, has discovered YouTube and he has recently decided to make his own channel (insert eye roll). He makes videos of our cattle around the farm while he is out doing chores. I try to avoid his videos, but on occasion I make my way into them because I am either in the background messing with the show cattle or because he wants to video what I am doing with the show cattle.
The last few times he has tried to catch me with the show cattle, I have been quick to get out of the way. The reason is because I am dressed in my farm chore clothes. This usually consists of old sweatpants that may or may not have holes in them, an oversized shirt that is big enough to cover some of the holes and either muck boots, canvas slides, or everyone’s favorite farm footwear, flip flops (kids…do as I say, not as I do). My attire is not what you would see in ANY fashion magazine or even any farm magazine because I look like some crazy woman with my hair all over the place and this hideous outfit.
My husband is so enthralled with this YouTube channel thing that he has suggested that I maybe try to dress a little better for his videos. It is not like I know when or where he is going to do these videos and can plan accordingly. Most of the videos have been of our show bulls acting silly, wasting feed, or chasing cows. There are a few of the show heifers and maybe the cows, but as you can tell, I am not checking YouTube on the daily to see if he has any new uploads.
My ability to dress myself daily has nothing to do with anything except comfort in the immediate task. When I come to the office, I try to wear nice jeans and a “nice” t-shirt, but sometimes I am in my athletic pants/wind pants and a t-shirt and since we are heading in to summer, I will be breaking out my dad’s old cargo shorts.
My attire will come as no surprise to any of the kids I have hauled around for cattle shows and I like to send them photos of things that might be fun for me to wear. Most times I get a text back with a frowny face emoji and a “NOOOO”. They have seen some silly things I have worn, and they are now mostly immune to whatever I walk out of the house in. In the winter, they know that under my ski bibs, I have on sweatpants. They used to make fun of me for wearing my dad’s old cargo shorts, but now they appreciate them because I am the official phone holder on show day and those shorts have a lot of pockets.
I will say I have seen a few photos from various shows that are candid’s from the professional photographers and when I see them I always think to myself “What was I thinking that day?”. We are usually up really early with just a few hours of sleep, so I am going to blame it on that.
Come to think of it, I probably should listen to my husband and try to dress a little better for his YouTube videos, so his subscribers don’t think his wife is completely crazy. If anyone is interested in checking out his channel and catching me in my outfits, his YouTube is under Mark and you will see a lot of our Beefmaster cattle in them. You may just happen to catch a glimpse of me in my fancy sweatpants!
Debbie Elder is a native of Ottawa County, Okla. and lives on her farm in Webster County, Mo. To contact Debbie, call 1-866-532-1960 or by email at [email protected].
