Small Joys In The Season Of Giving

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We reflect on a fast year, the wins we forgot we earned, and the small acts that made the season bright. A roadside assist, a food pantry drop, and a reminder that receiving help can be as generous as giving it.

• year-in-review across planting, fairs, harvest and holidays
• book launch and starting the podcast as key milestones
• gratitude for unexpected help from a dealership tech
• choosing to notice joy over busyness and setbacks
• donating meat and the reality of local food insecurity
• practical ideas for giving when money is tight
• the courage to receive without guilt to refill the cup
• remembering love, light and family as the focus

Go find us on all of the socials at farmers greatest asset
Send us a message via email at farmersgreatestasset at gmail.com

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:16):
The Farmer's Greatest Asset Podcast.
We believe the Farm's GreatestAsset is the Farmer.
Their knowledge, experience,mind, and health.

(00:39):
Welcome to the podcast.
I'm Jesse.

SPEAKER_01 (00:41):
And I'm Dr.
Leah.

SPEAKER_00 (00:43):
Well, Merry Christmas.
It is the season, right?

SPEAKER_01 (00:48):
The season is upon us.

SPEAKER_00 (00:50):
A week away.
Christmas.
Already.

SPEAKER_01 (00:57):
It has come fast, that is for sure.
You know, as the kids get older,it just seems like we have
winter and then we're plantingand then into summer and hay and
fare to state fair to harvest toChristmas.

(01:18):
Here it is.
It's like boom.
It goes very fast.

SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
That is our year in review right there.
Pretty much that in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_01 (01:29):
You know, as part of uh kind of like a little program
that I did to just reset before2026, and it has you reflect on
your 2025 and go through yourpictures.
And there were a lot of amazingmoments that we had.
You kind of forget about whathas happened in a year.

SPEAKER_00 (01:53):
That's why pictures are good, right?

SPEAKER_01 (01:55):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (01:56):
But they're no good until you go look at them.

SPEAKER_01 (01:59):
Yeah.
It so, you know, when you'rethinking about what you want to
change and what you want to, youknow, what you see when you're
looking back, and the list ofall the great things that
happened this year faroutweighed the heavy stuff.

SPEAKER_00 (02:17):
Sure.

SPEAKER_01 (02:18):
The heavy things, I could think of like three
things.

SPEAKER_00 (02:21):
That's why they call them heavy.
Right.

SPEAKER_01 (02:23):
They're harder to carry, but I had like a whole
page full of just going throughthe picture roll and just all
the new friendships that I madethis year.
I mean, since last year, youwrote a book.

SPEAKER_00 (02:39):
It was a good time.

SPEAKER_01 (02:40):
We started the podcast.

SPEAKER_00 (02:41):
Like it was about this time last year I started
the book.

SPEAKER_01 (02:45):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (02:47):
And published and have a book for sale.
Yeah.
And by spring, early summer.

SPEAKER_01 (02:53):
By April, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (02:54):
Yeah.
Wow.

SPEAKER_01 (02:56):
And we started our podcast in March.
March.
We have accomplished a lot.

SPEAKER_00 (03:03):
We have done a lot for sure.
And it goes fast.

SPEAKER_01 (03:06):
It does.
It's been a joyous year.

SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
Yeah.
So it is the season of giving,right?
Or tis the season of giving.
So um I guess in in that alsoit's receiving.
So yesterday I bought animplement a while ago, and we
went down to pick it up, and Ihad to drag home the tongue for

(03:33):
it, the the hitch.
And it was slow going.
So without pulling anything,it's like a two and a half hour
drive.
And I had to drive 30 miles perhour.

SPEAKER_01 (03:43):
So how fun was that for you?

SPEAKER_00 (03:45):
That was awful.
So I decided it was actuallygetting dark too, and I'd have
to take some four-lane roads.
And I'm like, you know what?
Like, I've seen enough people ontheir phones about come right up
me.
So I said, enough is enough.

(04:06):
And thank you to an implementdealer down south here and Gage
at that implement dealership forhelping me out.
I stopped there.
They they were okay with medropping it and coming back in
the morning with a trailer.
And one of the service guys,Gage, thank you.
You helped me load it.
Um, and that made my day.
Made my two days, actually, thatI could drop it.

(04:29):
They were nice enough to let medrop it, and then nice enough to
help me push it on the trailer.
And I was even gonna bribe himwith a hundred dollar bill, and
he said, nope, we're just gonnado it for you.

SPEAKER_01 (04:42):
Thank you, Gage.

SPEAKER_00 (04:43):
Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 (04:44):
So I think when we when we look back, we can really
focus on the negative, or we canreally choose to focus on the
positive because there are somany people who are willing to
help for nothing.
There are still good people outthere in the season of giving

(05:07):
and receiving.
I think it seems to be easier togive than to receive, for me at
least.
Well, it is, it's but that was atime that you received.

SPEAKER_00 (05:22):
Right.

SPEAKER_01 (05:23):
And we have to also allow that to come through as
well.
Otherwise, when you just give,you empty your cup, and you need
to allow yourself to receivelove and gratitude as much as
you give.

SPEAKER_00 (05:40):
So that being said, at the same time, you and Lucy
were on a little missiondonating some stuff because we
have the means, so we were happyto do so.
And it's like you said, you giveand receive, and it fills fills
your cup.
Like it was a good dayyesterday.

SPEAKER_01 (06:00):
It was a good day.
Just those little things canreally mean a lot.
And I think when you look back,you really push those aside.
But it is those little everydaymoments of joy that really make
life enjoyable.

SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
Right.

SPEAKER_01 (06:24):
That those are the things that we should choose to
focus on, not the busy, not thewhat didn't get done, not the
you know, how I wanted my day togo and it didn't, like really
capturing thomes of joy.

SPEAKER_00 (06:41):
It has to be a good feeling for you to know that you
donated some meat and a lot offamilies will be fed.
Right?
Yes.
So when you can just feel thatjoy and that warmth of knowing
people will have good nutritiousfood on their table.

SPEAKER_01 (07:03):
Although we lived on farms in the 80s and means were
tight.
We still always had we alwayshad a freezer full of meat.

SPEAKER_00 (07:12):
Beef or pork and both.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 (07:15):
We always had food in our cupboards.
That is not the case for a lotof people, and it's easy to
bypass that.

SPEAKER_00 (07:25):
Well, even here you don't realize it.
A previous time that we went toa food pantry, they serve a lot
of families.
A lot.
And it's just one of a couple inthe county, uh, food pantries in
the county, and you don'trealize there are a lot of
families that depend on thosefood pantries.

(07:48):
And you think, oh, it can't bethat bad around here, but there
are a lot of families that arebeing served by that.

SPEAKER_01 (07:55):
So it it is good to it felt really good to to give
the meat and uh to know that itis going someplace where people
really could use it and eat itand appreciate it.
Yeah.
So it was wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 (08:12):
So in the season, it's good to receive and good to
give.
If you have the means, weencourage you to do so.
Whatever it is you can.
And if you can't, that's okaytoo.

SPEAKER_01 (08:25):
It doesn't always have to be material objects.
Right.

SPEAKER_00 (08:29):
Uh Gage helped me push an implement on a trailer.

SPEAKER_01 (08:34):
You could stop and talk to an elderly person at the
store.
Carry their groceries to theircar for them, you know, help
them load it into the car.

SPEAKER_00 (08:46):
If you know a person, somebody I know
personally, their mother is inan assisted living nursing home,
right?
And she fell and broke her hipor something, so had to have
surgery and was bedridden.
So and asked for people to sendcards and go visit, and people
did overwhelmingly, and itreally helped her recovery.

(09:10):
Her recovery and her mentalstate, and just going to visit
somebody like that is giving.

SPEAKER_01 (09:17):
And again, we, you know, having such a large
family, we don't think aboutpeople not having someone to
visit them in the holiday seasonand how lonely that could be.
It doesn't have to be somethingyou go out and buy.
It could be, oh, I'm makingbaked goods, I'm going to take
these to a senior citizen thatmight not have family in the

(09:41):
area.
There's so many things that youcan do that really bring joy to
the holiday season.

SPEAKER_00 (09:50):
So I guess the point is is just remember the reason
for the season.
And it is about family andgiving and receiving and not
necessarily and light.
All those wrapped gifts underthe tree, which are absolutely
amazing.
But like you said, love and joyand light.

(10:11):
Like I said, remember the reasonfor the season.
And from us to you.

SPEAKER_01 (10:17):
Merry Christmas.

SPEAKER_00 (10:19):
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.

SPEAKER_01 (10:23):
We will hear from us again before that time.

SPEAKER_00 (10:25):
Yep.
To all the farmers out therebraving the weather here today.
It's it's gotten a little nasty.
Cats and dogs.
It's weird.
Again, thanks for listening.
Go find us on all of thesocials.

SPEAKER_01 (10:42):
At farmers greatest asset.

SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Send us a message via email.

SPEAKER_01 (10:47):
At farmersgreatestasset at
gmail.com.

SPEAKER_00 (10:51):
And remember, it is a good day.

SPEAKER_01 (10:54):
To have a great day.
Bye.