Author page: Kelly Grappe

I love how Facebook sends you memories. It makes me realize I post a lot of stuff. Sometimes, I am reminded that on a Tuesday a year ago we had a delicious dinner. Sometimes, I get a glimpse of where I was a year or two ago emotionally. Sometimes, I get to see how far we’ve come and sometimes I am reminded of how little things have changed. Today, my memory was our first morning coffee on the porch here at the farm. What a year it’s been for us. The Hummers are still here as they were last year; this crooked house is still full of love and hope. But my, how things have changed. We have chickens, goats, pigs, guineas, bees, rabbits, new dogs. Our house is pretty close to being finished. We built a giant flower bed and we have a garden.

It has long been my dream to write and illustrate a series of children’s books. Several years ago, I even took a watercolor class so I could learn how paint hummingbirds or other critters for the books.  I quickly learned that I’m no artist but I did enjoy the process of mixing beautiful colors to make other beautiful colors. Then life got really busy…..I became a  mom, my job became more demanding and time-consuming and frankly, I just didn’t have the energy to work on it.

Yesterday, we made our weekly trip to the sale Barn. It’s truly one of the highlights of my week. It’s so busy here on the farm. We are working harder than we ever have. I used to think I worked a lot…and I did, but it wasn’t nearly as intense as this lifestyle we have right now. I’m not complaining ….at all. I’m glad for the work. Those shirts or bumper stickers you see that say, “If you ate today, thank a farmer” make a heckuva lot more sense now.

When I was little, I remember our family driving down the road and my mom would say, “Albert, did you see all those blackberries? Go back…let’s get some.” And my dad would always turn around. We’d find a sack or something in the car to take the berries home in and then we’d be on our merry way, with our contraband blackberries, juice running down our necks and stained hands. Those days almost always ended with a blackberry cobbler and vanilla ice cream.

Over the past couple weeks (and the last ten years), I’ve started cataloging advice….lessons….whatever you want to call it. I know this isn’t a comprehensive list and I am confident that I will continue to add to it but for now, here’s a start that I hope will be helpful for any teenage girl. 

So here goes……

Don’t let anyone tell you your dream. You decide what you want and fight like hell for it.

Marry the guy you want to marry. Or don’t…..you decide what works for you.

Go after the job you really want….even if it means you’ll have to eat ramen noodles and mac & cheese. Do what you love. You spend more hours at work than anywhere else.   Make sure it’s where you want to be.

Don’t take ibuprofen on an empty stomach.

Mother’s Day is just not that simple. Take it from my daughter who we adopted through the foster care system when she was four years old. I couldn’t wait to be part of the exclusive Mom club that had evaded me for so long.