Why I am who I am...

I know that I'm different. I know that I'm not your typical Southern California Beach Babe. I know that I have different things that make me "tick" than my other girlfriends. I think it's because of where my parents came from...the midwest. They raised me on a midwest mentality. You know...come home for dinner and eat as a family...clean for 2 hours on a Saturday morning before you can play with your friends...watch The Cosby Show every week as a family...attend Sunday School, church and Wednesday night...go for picnics at the beach...camping in the summer...road trips...


Yeah, it's a midwest mentality. It's because of who my parents are. It's because of where they come from and why they didn't get sucked into the California lifestyle. It's because of extended family and frequent trips back to Minnesota. My Dad has a cousin who lives on a farm near Hendricks, MN. 3 summers ago, Stephen and I took the 3 Twerps out there for a long weekend. We spent the greatest vacation with them playing on the farm, going on tractor rides, playing in the creek, watching the kids play hide and go seek behind the large headstones in the country cemetery up the road.


Beverly occasionally sends me emails and pictures. They're almost always an Ole and Lena joke, one of the "you're my friend" emails that goes around the internet, or pictures from home. This morning, I got a picture from home and I thought I'd share it with you so you can maybe see why I am who I am.

This is the message that went out with her picture: "This is Melvin's newest old tractor - Melvins, grandson, Dan Lewis on tractor, and Gail are pictured. It's a 1941 John Deere B, and I thought I'd include you in the list to whom I sent the picture. They hauled it about 100 miles from Sisseton, South Dakota, where the previous owner had just used it in their local town parade and got 4th place in the "slow tractor" race."

How great is that? I love Melvin and Beverly for letting a friend use their tractor 100 miles away for the "slow tractor race!" If I had a tractor and my friends wanted to borrow it, I'd let them too! I guess it's that midwestern menatlity!