Raised in a Community, By a Community to Support the Community

There are times I have to defend my upbringing, where I live and or even why I still live here and each time I proudly speak up for my rural upbringing and my choice to stay in ND!  I do it with pride in being raised in a community of and by people who support each other.  Is it ONLY in North Dakota where you find this?  No, but I feel like it's easier to do here because people take time to get to know each other. 


Point in case, my brother and his family are going through some tough times right now.  My nephew, who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in the spring of 1987 at just a few months old, has now reached that point where he is on the double lung transplant list.  Tough thing to get your head around as a family member, but my job as aunt and sister is to support them, love them and pray.  I got that! 


Their local community, upon finding out the news, jumped into action.  Within hours a fund raiser was planned and people started to work on how they can support my nephew on his path.  And not just that one community, but the surrounding communities have also become involved in helping with this event. 


My sister-in-law has used the word "humbling" and it really is that, but it's also how people were and are raised here.  Someone gets hurt in a farming accident, the neighbors get together to bring the crop in.  Someone loses their home in a fire, the community shows up to bring what they need to get them safely into their next home and on with their lives.  A family loses their barn and the community shows up on a Sunday afternoon to build a new one. 


How do I know all these things?  Because each of them either happened to me or someone in my family and the community came together to help in all of the situations.  So, while I keep going, I am also glad to be able to keep coming home to this place I call home and my community of communities that make it all worthwhile. 

Come Fly With Me

Remember, I fell into this crazy world of Travel.  It was never my life long aspiration or dream.  I had never flown until I was adult and working in my first real job.  Growing up as the youngest of seven in small town North Dakota, we didn't think about travelling the globe.  Now, it's easy and within the span of three week, myself, my son and my nephew will have been or will be in in 7 different countries.  Times have certainly changed. 

Something else is changing and I would like to make sure everyone is watching this space.  Distribution, NDC and Next Generation Store Front are the new hot topics in our industry.  I have said this before, but I feel like we are back in the late 1800's to early 1900's with the Wright brothers.  Sure, this isn't about putting a plane together and shooting someone across the sky, but this will change how products are on the shelf, heck, it's gonna change the shelf itself! 


When the NDC conversations started years ago, I was absolutely against the initiative.  Through learning and education, I have found myself on the side of innovation, technology and service.  Was it overnight?  NO!  Was it easy to understand?  Not really.  Was it worth the time I spent in trying to understand all the sides?  For sure! 


There are a number of opportunities coming up to learn about all of these and I would invite you to take part in any of them.  Additionally, I am always happy to talk to anyone about why I changed my mind and why I am an advocate of this much needed step in our industry.  You are welcome to comment on this post if you want to set up a time to chat. 


It's not all sunshine and roses, but when I think about people in our business staying relevant and focusing on our traveler experience, these are the solutions that will keep us going. 

Little House on the Prairie

So, most people know I work from home.  Most also know that I have three teenagers in my house who are all home from college/school for the summer.  Inevitably, at some point in the day, I leave my office to find one or two of them sitting in the living room watching some stupid show on TV.  I have to say, "the crap they put on daytime TV is crazy!" 


I recently started recording reruns of Little House on the Prairie.  Yep, Ma, Pa, Mary, Half Pint, Kari and just a few weeks ago, Grace was born.  I am eagerly waiting on Albert to be adopted and Almonso to come along, but in the meantime, I enjoy having that on in evening while I am doing things around the house.  Then, if I find a tidbit of wisdom, I make the kids sit down and watch it with me! 


My kids think I am weird because one minute I have Little House playing and the next minute, I am eagerly awaiting the Big Little Lies season 2.  I guess it speaks to diversity of the TV I grew up with and what is out there today.  Ah, how times have changed.  If you get the chance to watch an episode or two of Little House, I think it's worth the hour and I hope that you find yourself being nostalgic like me.  Now if I could just the kids to watch it...wish me luck.....Keep going.