Because it’s never just “a day” when the land calls you Mama too.

Sunrise isn’t a soft invitation here—it’s a firm knock at the door, and I answer it with sleep still in my eyes and one hand reaching for the coffee. The floor’s cold, the baby monitor crackles, and the smell of toast means breakfast is already halfway done.

Outside, the dog’s tangled herself up again, the barn kittens are mewing under the tractor, and the animals don’t care that I haven’t brushed my teeth yet—they want breakfast too. I tie back my hair, lace up the boots, and step into the work before the day can get ahead of me.

Strawberries are ripe—ruby jewels hiding beneath green leaves. I fill the bowl, eat a few, smile to myself. The grafted apple trees are holding strong—some branches are beginning to swell, signs of life stitched in with hope. The dahlia cuttings? A few roots peek through the bottom trays, like tiny white promises.

Lunch gets made with one hand while I hold a toddler on my hip. Nap time comes like a whispered miracle, and the house finally exhales. I sit. I write. I plan next week’s meals, check off the grocery list, and scribble in the margin: “don’t forget feed for the pig pen.”

By the time the kids are up, the world spins again—dinner, dishes, bath time, and one more round of “Where’s your other sock?” We check on the animals one last time under the deepening dusk. The red heat lamps flicker on in the barn. Mama Pig is restless. We are on baby-watch now.

And when the last book is read, and the final cup of water is fetched, and the kids are tucked in with soft cheeks and louder dreams—I find my way back to the front porch. My husband is there. We don’t say much. We don’t need to.

We are tired.

We are tethered.

We are building something old-fashioned and true.

This life—this messy, rooted, holy everyday—is not quiet. But it’s ours.

And if you’re living something like this too, with dirt under your nails and love that’s louder than sleep, I see you.

I’m raising my chipped coffee mug to you across the table.