How To Stay Young--Learn To Do Something New!
Sometimes as we age, we either lose fears about the unknown, or place more of those in front of us to curtail the joy of pushing beyond our comfort zones.
Were you fearless as a kid, but lost some of that need to leap into the unknown abyss?
Don't become so staid and stable that you lose your willingness to try something completely new.
My husband has always wanted land he could call his own. Being from urban Philadelphia this was NOT what he grew up with. He never gave up on that dream and we took the leap last February, a year ago and bought a 5AC ranch.
Since then, we've had many firsts.
This brings me to to my most recent first.
I learned how to drive a tractor! I hauled and dumped gravel! I graded it! (And that doesn't mean A-F, folks).
(This was Larry's first dig on his Kaboda).
Very exciting stuff!!!!!!
Well, for me, anyway.
Maybe some of you grew up on a farm with dads, moms, grandpas or brothers/sisters showing you how to drive a tractor as a kid.
I had none of this. No living on a farm and certainly wasn't around tractors or anyone who would show me the ropes.
However.
I DID do road construction as a young 23ish female. I watched many a backhoe, grader, road crew types.
I had just never gotten up on one and tried it until this last weekend.
WHAT FUN!
My husband let me get on his new Kaboda, that he dearly loves and graciously gave me some time to oh-so-slowly learn how to go forward, backward and navigate the gravel pile so that I could cover some muddy areas in front of our barn.
He was even trusting enough to walk away and go mow while I judiciously moved gravel from the pile to the barn entrance. And, as I had mentioned, I graded it, which means that you drop the shovel so that its flat bottom is sitting parallel to the hill of gravel and you go slowly in reverse, flattening it to level it out. He told me it takes finesse, and yet I got it down very quickly.
AGAIN, WHAT FUN!!!
There will be some other firsts coming. Our new mule, Della arriving the third week in March
and days later,
our registered Paint horse, Pearl comes to her new home.
Give yourself the chance to try some new things this week, this month, this year. Take fear by the hand and walk with it until you are both comfortable with each other! It gets easier and it keeps you young!
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