Where I Come From (There’s cornbread and pie….)

Simple question: “where do you come from?”

Hard answer. I don’t like it when people answer the question with places. That is a stupid, beauty queen answer. You grew up in a place but its not necessarily where you came from.

So where do I come from? Lets start off with a family full of love and endearment. A family full of hard workers and fighters of what they believed. My ancestors include fighters of the American revolution, the civil wars and fighters of civil rights.

I come from a family of farmers and oilers. We take pride in what comes from the earth. One of my great great great grandmothers was one of the first woman farmers in Texas. Girl power, baby. Chris’ family is full of farmers and people who take pride in living of the land. I can still taste the tomatoes from his great uncles “garden.” (It’s as big as a dang farm).

I come from a family where it’s okay to be different and to strive for your dreams. There are at least five companies that were started or taken over by current family members. Coffee, oil, accounting, law, wind power and advertising. Broad trades and unique businesses.

I come from a family of writers and teachers. My grandfather was a sports writer and editor, granny was a English teacher and critic, grandmother was a newspaper editor, father is a sports editor, aunt is an English teacher, mom is a teacher, brother is a Peace Corps teacher and blogger in Ukraine, two more aunts are teachers, three cousins are teachers and the rest of us are mentors to each other.

Most importantly, I come from a family who loves and cares for one another with no boundaries and no judgement. When I lost my job I was so scared of telling my family and so worried about disappointing them. They were not mad, not disappointed, not even a bit upset. When they found out I was okay with it, they took me in with open arms and no judgment.

Hard workers, love, passion and presence. That’s where I come from.