Made For More

Today is International  Women’s Day.  According to some internet searching this annual celebration on March 8^th goes back to 1908 and the struggle for women to get shorter work hours, better pay and the right to vote.   I am grateful that I have the right to vote.   I do believe women were made for more than protests encouraging women not to show up for work on March 8^th to highlight the IWD movement.  I believe women were made for more by the character developed versus the job they do.   I would like to take this day to highlight a few women that have shown me in a variety of ways what it means to be a woman that is made for more.

Barbara Dukat Wieczorek

Barbara was born in 1938 as a twin and the youngest of five.  Barbara would grow up a city girl with summers spent on a ranch in Valentine.  She met a tall, handsome man, that she would marry and raise six children with.  Barb, as she was known by friends and family, moved with her husband to Washington State while he finished his military service.  She became pregnant with her first child and about half way through the pregnancy received word that her mother had died suddenly.  The couple borrowed money to get back to Nebraska for the funeral.  It would only be several years later when her father would die suddenly, too.  Barb would continue to experience more grief as she lost each sibling one by one and then most recently her husband.  I am amazed at the amount of sorrow she has endured and recently learned her birthday is also the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows.  Aside from the difficult times Barb also encouraged her children to get involved in Brownies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and 4-H.  Barb taught religious education and sold toys for Brandeis to the delight of her children who liked to see what other kids were getting for Christmas.   Birthdays were special days in the family and each child was blessed with a decorated cake decorated by Barb.  Barb was also known for her fried chicken and sewing skills.  One Christmas she made her daughters numerous Barbie outfits during the night hours so the girls would not see what she was making.  Barb nourished her family first with the gift of life and second in countless ways of showing how much she cared for each one of them.  Barb is known for making sure you are fed well when visiting!  Barb is my mom and I am so very grateful that she chose life for me and my five younger siblings as well as modeling her virtue of generosity.

Mom holding my brother, Dave, as I
sit on the floor in front of her-1961

Kathleen Dukat

Kathleen, also known as Aunt Kathy, was a very dear aunt to numerous nieces and nephews.  Aunt Kathy loved to bring gifts, bake lots of food and spend time with extended family.  Aunt Kathy and her long time boyfriend, Gene, took me to see Mary Poppins in the theater when I was about six years old.  Aunt Kathy hosted numerous family gatherings including a Christmas party where I remember many of the girls receiving a Mary Poppins doll and each child received a special bank that had a $1.00 bill in it!  Aunt Kathy was the first person to hear about my encounter with Steve at a wedding dance in Snyder.   Aunt Kathy nourished family and friends with her laughter, her love and her ability to make you feel welcome.  I am very grateful to have had an aunt as precious as my Aunt Kathy.

Aunt Kathy is surrounded by my siblings and I-late 1960's.

Juanita Nozicka

Juanita, also known as Aunt Juanita, remains a very dear aunt and friend of mine.  Juanita was married to my dad’s youngest brother, Melvin.  Juanita has a voice that oozes kindness and love.  When I was going through some rebellious teenage years Juanita was there to give me her comforting smile and a place to be loved.  When my uncle was diagnosed with cancer our families went through a difficult time. Juanita has continued to be a close friend for my mom and our family with her soft, warm, kind and loving voice.  I am very grateful to have Aunt Juanita as an example of accepting each person as they are with great love.

Juanita and her husband, Paul, sharing an Easter with us.

Bernardine Ruskamp

Bernardine, also known as mom to my husband, is the oldest of eight children and the mother of ten children.  I met Bernardine on my first visit to see Steve when I followed up on his invitation to come out to the farm to ride his amazing horse.  I found Bernardine to incredibly gifted at sewing, baking, gardening and listening.   Bernardine has always been very good at paying attention to details which makes one very good at making quilts, baking bread, canning tomatoes and building life-long friendships.  Bernardine also loved reading to our children when they were young and making them special pajamas and pillow cases to match their interests.  Bernardine has been an incredible mentor of loving each and every life God gives you.  Bernardine has nourished family and friends with her numerous apple pies and loaves of homemade bread as well as countless baby quilts made for Project Linus.  I have been blessed to have a mother-in-law I can look up to and admire.

Bernardine and Francis at Emily's wedding in 2014.

My Sisters

Linda, Sharon and Sandy are my sisters.   I  have fond memories of playing Barbies, building snow tunnels and going roller skating when we were kids.   As we grew we each found our own gifts and talents, married, faced different struggles and three of us had children.   What I admire about my three sisters is the grit they have maintained through a variety of times of suffering.   Each one of them has nourished me through their witness of the virtues of courage, forgiveness, generosity and kindness.   I am very grateful for my sisters, Linda, Sharon and Sandy and the many ways they continue to bless me with their friendship.

My sisters-Sandy, Sharon, Linda and me in the early 2000's.

My Daughters

Steve and I have five children that include three girls.  Ginger, Emily and Kim are each five years apart and spent their childhoods playing in trees near the house, climbing hay bales in the barn and taking care of 4-H animals.   Each of the girls found a love for raising rabbits after Ginger brought home her first Dutch rabbit.  I could write endless stories from the memories I fondly treasure of each of them as a little girl.  What I find myself thinking about more these days is how incredible each of them are as adults.  Ginger and Emily are both amazing mother’s.  All three of the girls are dedicated to jobs that involve teaching.  My three daughter’s nourish me with kind words written in special cards, phone calls at random times just to talk and the virtues of love and generosity they give to family and friends.  I have been extremely blessed to have three daughters that love me, encourage me and support me in my own new adventures.

Kim, Ginger, Emily, me and Ella at Emily's wedding.

My Friends

I have been blessed to have so many incredible people in my life to call friends.  There are my childhood friends, cousins that became friends, high school and college friends, friends I met when I moved from one town to another eventually settling in Dodge and friends I continue to make through volunteer opportunities.   I have recently been blessed with an overwhelming amount of love from many friends since the passing of my father.   I do have one friend I would like to mention because she was also a mentor that taught me a lot about being a woman.   Her name is Joyce Kreiekemeier.   I met Joyce through church activities.   Over several years of time I watched and learned from Joyce about servant leadership, poise, commitment, dedication and love.   Joyce treated me like an equal even though she had many years of experience and knowledge beyond mine.  Joyce also encouraged by example, taught through teamwork and lived joyfully from a faith was from deep within her heart.  As I spent time with Joyce I learned to treasure traits like modesty, integrity, perseverance, respect, acceptance and forgiveness.   I am so grateful to have had Joyce as a mentor and friend early in my life as a mother to learn the importance of continually growing in faith.

These are some of my friends I have made since becoming a
volunteer for CommonGround.

As you can see I have been blessed with many women in my life that have nurtured me, encouraged me and loved me.  These women have taught me that I was made for more than the job I hold.  Who are the women in your life that have blessed you with their friendship and ability to help you become a better person?   I believe women were made for the ability to bring life into the world not only through the birthing process but also in the way we can nurture others through our words, our actions and our love.  Protest if you must but remember there are those of us who chose instead to give life today by feeding the hungry, giving words of encouragement to our neighbor, treating a patient, caring for our animals, building a home, putting out a fire, hugging a child, nursing a baby, flying a plane and most of all teaching the young our commitment to their well-being.

I was made for more! I am more than a farmer, wife, mom,
sister, daughter, grandmother, friend...I am a child of God!

My Guy

My guy is my husband, my best friend, my business partner and one of the toughest people I know.  My guy has the character traits of honesty, perseverance, integrity, faithfulness and trustworthiness that we would hope to find in any person we meet.  My guy has those traits and many more so deep within that I sometimes think it is just part of his DNA.  I have witnessed those qualities in a variety of circumstances that include the highs and lows of life experiences within our family and on our farm.  I would like to share a few of those moments about my guy, Steve.

My guy and me!

Steve and I met over thirty-six years ago.  We were brought together because of a wedding dance in the nearby town of Snyder.  I was working for a veterinarian in Fremont at the time and was invited by a friend to go to the wedding.  I did not know anyone at the wedding except for the person I was with.   When we arrived at the reception there was a group of people sitting around a table that we joined.  One of them was a brother to the person I was with.  I happened to sit across the table from Steve.   I soon learned that Steve and several others in the group had attended the same college I had recently graduated from, the University of Nebraska at Curtis.  We shared numerous stories and similar adventures of college days.  Steve learned of my interest in horses and began to tell me about this horse he had that could turn on a dime and about the feedlot his family had.  As the night drew to a close he gave me an invitation to visit his farm and ride this amazing horse of his.   I couldn't remember his name but noticed when he stood up and turned away that he had the name "Steve" imprinted on his belt.

The next day I was visiting with my aunt in Omaha and telling her about this guy, Steve.  I couldn't get his blue eyes and our conversational ease out of my mind.   I didn't need to worry about contacting him because as I unlocked the vet clinic door on Monday morning the phone was ringing with Steve on the other end asking if I'd like to go horseback riding.  I said yes and that began our dating relationship leading to our engagement.  We were married in September of 1981.

Steve and I had a horse and buggy ride from the church to the
reception.  We endured a few trials before the wedding including
the loss of Steve's brother in a car accident, the loss of my uncle
to cancer and a horse injury to me that had me on crutches.

Our adventure as a married couple began on a vacant farm place that we filled with dedication and love.   Steve gave me free reign to wallpaper and decorate our old farmhouse to make it a home for the five children that would eventually fill it.   We started making plans for Steve's vision of what our farm could be.   Then the farm crisis hit.  It was during those years that I saw how committed Steve was to our family and to our farm.  Steve's work ethic kicked into overdrive as he placed feeder pigs in every empty farm building he could lease.  Steve drew up cash flow plans to gain the trust of the bank loan officer.  We survived the 80's and changed course from feeding pigs to expansion of the feedlot.  Steve was a cattle feeder down to his core and worked on his vision of putting into place the potential our farm had to be a feedlot.

Steve, like many farmers, is very good at finding solutions
to problems.  His grandfather had patents that were
developed on our farm.  Here Steve is putting up water lines
he designed to mist water out over the cattle in hot weather.

The feedlot was able to grow because we had customers.  We had people that would own the cattle and then pay us to feed and care for them.  It was very important to Steve to always be very honest in pricing the feed and caring for the cattle.  While Steve enjoyed the friendships gained through those customers, it was his dream to own all of the cattle.  The work ethic, drive to succeed, openness to using the future's market to manage risk and a whole lot of prayer has allowed Steve's dream to come true.

Steve continues to look for ways to improve our cattle handling
skills including using low stress techniques.  Here Steve and I
are bringing cattle up to the barn for further examination.

 Today Steve continues to work as hard as he did forty years ago.  He is up at 5 a.m. and packs more in a day than some folks do in a week.  It is not because Steve is a superman.  Steve is passionate about what he does and he has the determination to work through all types of weather to make sure the cattle get the best care he can give them.

Steve has his fence fixing supplies ready to go.

My guy has a lot of passion for his job, and yet it pales to the affection he has for his family.  Steve welcomed each of our children with great joy and enthusiasm.  He is known for sharing his breakfast in the mornings, grilling new meals with beef at supper and tales of covered wagon stories at bedtime. He also wrote many Christmas poems that combined a unique message with a special gift for each member of the family.  Now Steve is taking great pleasure in spending time with his grandchildren whenever he can.

Our three grandchildren are gathered around Steve with our
oldest daughter Ginger standing in the background.

The foundation of all of this passion, dedication, determination, affection, trustworthiness, loyalty, tenacity and love is his faith.  Steve continues to grow in his desire to be a holy man of God.  Much of that growth has come through prayer and reading.  Steve is known for the many books he has going at one time and many of those have to do with spiritual growth.   Steve would love to pass on our farm to one of our children or grandchildren.  Even more important to him would be the passing on of the faith he has received from his father.

Steve learned to farm and feed cattle from his dad, Francis. Last
fall Francis became suddenly sick spending the last few days
of his life in the hospital.  The night before Francis died Steve
gave his dad as much comfort and love as he could.

"I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."  John 13: 34-35