Appreciate the lessons that make us who we are

Feeling blessed and deeply rooted in the summer of the baby!

In mid-June our family welcomed a litter of seven Vizsla puppies to our beloved dogs Charlie and Blaze.

A couple weeks later, our first grandchild, a boy, Trace, entered the world, making a sweet little family for our daughter Skye and her husband Justin.

As could be imagined, we can’t get enough snuggles and our phones are chock full of “cute little moments.” It’s very difficult to be in a bad mood while holding either a puppy or a grandchild!

While I know many of you have stopped reading now because you can’t stop looking at the cuteness overload in the photos, if you are still reading along, walk with me through a couple of life’s questions.

With the newness of life always comes the question “What will they do when they grow up?” Will the puppies be hunting field trial champions? Or therapy dogs for those desperately needing what a trusted companion can give?

What about Trace? Will he find a cure for cancer? Will he follow in the footsteps of his Uncle Kolter and have a burning desire to advocate for agriculture?

Only time will tell how God will use both the puppies and our grandson for his work and will.

Which brings me to my own burning question “What will they BE when they grow up? Not do, be.” How will faith, devout loyalty, honesty, work ethic, patience, discernment, love, peace, grace, ambition, servant leadership, inclusiveness and humor play out in their lives?

While the puppies will only have a dozen or so years to practice the above, Trace will have a lifetime to continue to practice good “being.”

Whether canines, bovines, equines or humans, good “being” doesn’t happen in an isolated silo. Rather it’s the result of many mentors unselfishly choosing to offer guidance, support and inspiration across the span of a lifetime.

I know our son, Teen Trail Boss Kolter, has certainly been positively mentored by a few local farmers and ranchers. I posed the challenge to him recently: These amazing people have definitely impacted what you will do. How have they impacted what you will be? The following are his responses.

“Always keep hamburger or hotdog buns in your truck in case you ever come across someone like Dog, my college roommate’s dog who didn’t like me much,” Scott McGill advised while laughing through memories.
He and the roommate are still friends to this day. As for Dog, he never friend-zoned Scott regardless of his carb offerings. This taught me that we are grateful for the friends we can make in our lives and the many stories they have to tell.
These stories can give us laughter in times of despair, or let us get to know someone better.
“Do as I say not as I do,” Steve Schuelke chuckles, protecting my on-the-job safety first and foremost while being a little more relaxed with his own.
Don’t misunderstand, on the big-ticket items he never skimped on any safety measures. But if there was one pair of earplugs to split between us, they were going in my ears.
This showed me that we are grateful for the many teachers and educators in our lives, who always put us first. They have taught us many life lessons and skills. They teach us the right way, even when showing us the wrong way sometimes.
“That could be a pain in your posterior,” John McGill proclaimed as he asks me if I remembered to close the gate.
We both know chasing cattle on a long, hot day would be character building and painful. This reminds me that we are thankful for the hard things in life. We may not like it at the moment, but in the end, that pain in your posterior becomes great joy and excitement.
This is seen in every aspect of agriculture to the woes of the row-crop season, calving season, and so on. Going through the droughts, floods, heat and cold makes the end result that much better.

I’m grateful for the learnings and laughs imparted to our son. I’m equally grateful in advance to those who will guide our grandson, and those fur-ever homes ready to adopt their puppy in August. I can’t wait to see who they will BE!

“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” -Theodore Roosevelt

The Rusty and Dixi Wellman family is deeply rooted in Nebraska, raising Wagyu cattle, Vizsla hunting dogs and chickens. They also co-run a nonprofit that puts local beef on thousands of school kids’ lunch plates, and love sharing their faith and passion for small towns, agriculture, rural living, small business owners, and servant leadership.