This year my family celebrated 100 years on the farm. Spilkers have farmed the land for a century and we decided it was a great reason to celebrate.So all summer my family and the farm crew spent their spare moments (right, spare moments on a farm) painting, weeding, mowing, and spit shining everything on the property. When the party came it seemed as though even the rocks had been polished. It was an amazing time for our family.
I've always been proud of my parents and that land, but that night I was beaming. I'm not involved on the farm today, but it has been so influential to my life. That raising and lifestyle sticks with you. Now that I have my own children I realize how so much of who I am and what I have become points back to those 18 years on 722 Road. I watched my parents work hard - enduring tough times and worse weather, surviving the farm crisis of the 80's and working early in the morning until late at night. I remember getting off the school bus and onto a grain truck with my mom at the wheel and my homework on my lap. I remember riding on the floor of the combine with my dad so I would get to see him that day. They did all of that for the love of the land and to build an amazing life for my brother and I. Thank you Mom and Dad for not just talking to me about values, hard work and dedication, but showing me. Demonstrating each day what it means to believe in something, commit to it and never waiver.
This year my brother joined my dad on the farm. And with that, the Spilker farming tradition continues.
