Lend A Hand Up

by Michele Boy | January 18, 2024

How crazy is this weather? Between the blizzard and the cold snap, the promise of 40 degree days feels like spring is here!
The kids had two days off then this week we had a two hour delay at school.
But the extreme temperatures caused a few hiccups in our lives. Our dogs couldn't hang out in the backyard. The sheep needed a heat lamp, extra hay, and kept inside the barn for several days.
And cattle decided this was the perfect temperature to drop babies. Sigh!
My vehicle's battery died and thankfully a good friend picked up my daughter and brought her to me.
Soon after, I got notice that a behind the scenes system I use was no longer available and I was moving to the new system soon. Oh wait, they meant right now!
Needless to say I couldn't get many of my walks in with a friend and my dogs. I couldn't do much of the self care I was used to and I started to become frantic. 
It has been a long time since I felt so overwhelmed. 
The chaotic not knowing what I am doing from one moment to the next is challenging me. 
I guess I like routines more than I want to admit. 
But life is always changing. 
As soon as this paper goes to print I am going out for a walk with my friend and our dogs. Forty-one degrees feels like spring after -20 temperatures. 
Closing the doors to the office for a walk feels like a precious gift I don’t want to waste. If you haven’t had a chance to look at the forecast we are headed for another cold snap. So seize the moment if you can!
As the new year has begun there have been changes at work, changes in life. How are you with change? I used to be more adaptable. Clearly I am less so. 
A young woman was guided to my office on Tuesday. She enjoys writing and we are going to try a paid internship to see how it goes. 
  You have heard it a thousand times right? There is no one that wants to work. Well, maybe it’s that no one wants to work at something they despise or no one wants to hear their ideas. Maybe it’s our job to help cultivate workers that find their passion or dream. And maybe they don’t know where to start. 
Maybe it’s our job to help lend a hand up. 
Many years ago there were ten people waiting to take my job. Now, the landscape is different. 
Maybe the field is filled with people wanting to work but don’t know where to begin or what to do. 
How are you with the youth that ask questions? Are you open to encouraging them or putting them off? It is easier to do it yourself isn’t it? But that doesn’t help guide the future. 
It takes time, listening, and patience. Are you open to hearing their ideas or want it done the way it’s always been done? 
Maybe it is time we opened our hearts and minds to work together.
Small town America can be an oasis. You know the teachers at the school well. Your job often lets you leave to volunteer or watch your kids play sports. The cost of living is lower and the commute is amazingly fast. 
The opportunities here are also endless. We are in need of youth returning to our towns. We need young farmers, bakers, plumbers. 
However, many can't afford to open a business. Housing is limited, and I am sure there are twenty other reasons why it won't work.   Or maybe it can. 
Maybe it's time to lend a hand up. Maybe you have the opportunity to help a younger member of our community become the next to fill your shoes. But today the youth want to be a part of the process. They want some choices. 
Maybe it's time to lend that hand up.