Two Worlds, One Heart

Tomorrow, I leave for a work trip. Bags to pack. Meetings to prep for. Agendas to lead. It’s part of the career I’ve built and the role I’m proud to hold.

But tonight, I’m walking fence lines with my husband. Listening to the bees hum in the garden. Watching the girls giggle together with dirt on their legs as they chase the cats and encourage the chickens and the ducks into the coops for the night. The bull calf we’re excited about stands tall in the pasture. The garden’s finally starting to take off. And just like that, it’s hard to imagine leaving it — even for a few days.

People often ask how we balance it. How we manage the early flights, the pasture rotations, the schoolwork, the hay season, the deadlines. The answer is: together.

It takes planning and spreadsheets and feed charts. It takes Wi-Fi that reaches just far enough. It takes a man who can fix fence and field tough questions from sassy teenage girl in the same breath. It takes a team at work who knows that “I’m offline for chores” isn’t a euphemism—it’s real life.

And it takes love. For the work. For the land. For the family we’re raising to chase frogs and swing hammers and write their own stories.

This life isn’t either/or. It’s both/and.

And while I’ll miss the rhythm of the ranch this week, I’m grateful for the chance to do meaningful work in both of my worlds.

Because every time I come home, I see the life we’re building more clearly—and fall in love with it all over again.