05/20/2026
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ
โ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ช๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ด.
Today marks one month until my second facial reconstructive surgery.
Truthfully, Iโm nervous. Not the dramatic kind. Just the quiet kind that settles in the back of your mind while life keeps moving. Horses still need fed. Cattle still need checked. Bills still need paid. The world does not stop spinning just because you are carrying around a little fear.
And over the last few weeks, I have found myself thinking a lot about the reality of this life we choose on multiple levels.
One thing I think people outside of agriculture sometimes misunderstand is this: good stockmanship matters. Good horsemanship matters. Experience matters. Patience matters. But none of those things make somebody untouchable.
Sometimes people assume wrecks only happen to careless people. I do not think that is true.
The best hands I know usually carry a scar or two. Some walk with a limp. Some still ache when the weather changes. Some have buried good horses. Some have been stepped on, kicked, bucked off, pinned, or simply found themselves on the wrong end of a split-second decision made by an animal weighing over a thousand pounds.
Not because they were reckless.
I think one thing this life teaches pretty quick is that risk comes with the territory. You can have good timing, good feel, good horses, and years of experience behind you, and still end up humbled. Horses are still horses. Cattle are still cattle. And sometimes a wreck happens faster than a person has time to think about it.
Not always because somebody failed.
Sometimes because this life asks a lot from the people living it.
That does not mean stockmanship failed. If anything, I think good stockmanship is often the reason things are not worse. But I do think this way of life has a way of humbling people. It reminds us that control is never as complete as we think it is. Maybe that is part of why ranch people tend to hold onto gratitude a little tighter. We know ordinary days are not promised.
So if you are the praying kind, I would sure appreciate prayers over the next several months, leading up to surgery, through surgery, and recovery. For wisdom for my surgeons, peace in the waiting, healing, and maybe just a little courage, too.
And if nothing else, maybe let this be a reminder to hug your people tight and respect the risks that come with this way of life.
Because sometimes even good hands get hurt.
๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐, ๐๐ค๐ง๐จ๐๐จ, ๐ค๐ง ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐?
โ ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ.
๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ.
