Dare To Dream

How did all begin?

Let's face it, life today is fast pace and continues to get faster every day.   Smart phones and tablets, while great tools, come with a price that many people fail to recognize.  How many of use would like to make it through a evening without checking our email, Facebook, twitter, text messages, etc?  What do you do when your cell phone rings?  How many times have you been in the situation that in which you are having a discussion with someone and their smart phone signals that they have a new text and the person stops talking to glance at their phone, or even worse ends the conversation so they can reply to the text?   I've been working in the technology field all of my career and can remember my first computer, cell phone, palm pilot, laptop, etc. and as the technology continues to evolve, so does the amount of time we spend using the technology.   

Many years ago, I had the "opportunity" to run multiple IT shops.  As part of this opportunity, I was required to travel between St Paul MN and Watertown SD on a frequent basis.  At time, this was a great career opportunity.  The facility in Watertown was an early adopter of digital technology and I was leading the efforts to integrate digital image technology with legacy systems.  The trip from my home to SD was about three hours by car traveling through rural MN and SD.  I did this for over two years and it was at this point that I had time to dream, after all, cell phones didn't work in the country at that time.

Driving the rural highways, my mind began to relax and I began to remember and appreciate when I was in my early teens and I'd spend two weeks a year at my grandparent's farm.  Grandpa was an insurance adjuster and also had a small farm.   During my stay, I'd travel with my grandpa as he visited farms all over Wisconsin doing his job.  We'd start our day doing chores and be on the road by 7 am, returning in the afternoon to continue farming.  I remembered picking rocks (grandpa had the cleanest fields in the county), fixing fence, making hay, taking care of the animals, doing whatever was needed.   It was a great experience and as I thought about it I began to yearn for those times.  Grandpa worked off farm, so why couldn't I?

Additionally, as I spent more time in Watertown, I began to get know many of people who worked for the company.  Many of them had farms and when they learned that I appreciated what they did outside of work they would share with me their experiences, challenges and successes.  My dream to farm was taking shape.  

Unfortunately there was significant changes in the company and I was no longer required to travel, dreaming was put on hold.   However, as luck would have it, an opportunity opened up at a large company located in rural Norwood Young America, MN which was only 45 minutes away from where we lived.   With a new job, came new challenges, and I once again I got so busy that I stopped dreaming...only for a bit.  You see Norwood Young America is your typical rural small town and of course there is a cafe that everyone eats at.  My department and I would have lunch at the Midtown every Monday.  And as I became a regular, I was able to enjoy the typical farming community discussions..."How much rain did you get?"  "So and So is putting up hay"  "Did you hear that so and so got a new..." etc.   That dream to farm just wouldn't go away.

Finally, one day I woke up and shared with my wife, my dream that we should move to a farm.  This was first time that I had spoke my dream out load.  In thinking about the moment I shared my dream, I don't believe I ever gave a thought to what my wife would say.  You see Cindy is my best friend and together we've always worked well together and enjoy taking on new challenges.   Cindy of course jumped in with both feet and within three months we had found our farm, sold our house in suburban Chanhassen and moved to the country.  Now remember, neither of us grew up on a farm, so, I'm positive that neither of us realized what the adventure was that we were signing up for.

So what's my message?  Dare to Dream.  Enjoy the website as we share our adventures and insights.  Walk was us as we share our dream to farm. 

By Tom Rivers