The Soil That Knows My Name

Here’s what this place means to me. This dirt, this land, this air, it’s where I am from. Maybe I didn’t fully grow up here, but this is where I was made. Where my bones were shaped, where my heart was taught to beat with pride, patience, and grit.

This place didn’t just raise me, it molded me. It whispered lessons into me every time I walked across the field, every time I sat on that porch swing, every time I heard the creak of the barn door or the rattle of gravel under car tires.

A large part of my heart belongs here. Stuck right here in this soil, between the fence posts and the hay bales, in the shadows of the hills and the warmth of that old farmhouse kitchen. I carry it with me every day, even when I’m not here.

Family runs deep in my veins. Deeper than most folks understand anymore. Not just in last names or old photos, but in the way I love, the way I work, the way we fight for each other and stand through storms together.

This may just be the most beautiful place on earth to me. And it’s not just because of the view. It’s the feeling. The memories. The stories.

I remember feeding the calves with Grandma. Her voice was soft, her hands steady. She taught me how to be gentle with something small and scared.

I remember collecting the dead chickens in the coop with Grandpa. That’s not the kind of memory that makes it into the movies, but it’s real. And it taught me about life, and death, and responsibility.

I remember the quads, the speed, the mud, the laughter. I remember every path we carved through the fields like it was yesterday.

And that’s just the tip of it.

I remember the smell of fresh cut hay.
I remember cold mornings when breath hung heavy in the air. I remember the sun rising over the hills, and the quiet that followed. I remember all of the family dinners that felt like communion. I remember sitting on the porch after a long day of playing with my siblings, we’d watch the sky catch fire as the sun dipped behind the hills.

I. Remember. Everything.

This place is more than just a spot on a map. It’s my foundation. My beginning. And no matter where I go, it’s my home.

Always will be.