Generations Run Full Circle Life's Rhythm of three strong women…Our hearts' paths lead the way. - Sandy Osborn

Generations Run Full Circle Life's Rhythm of three strong women…Our hearts' paths lead the way

Generations Run Full Circle Life's Rhythm of three strong women…Our hearts' paths lead the way. - Sandy Osborn

My Grandmother born in 1907, lived on a farm in East Texas. My mom's stories described how much she disliked this situation. She could not wait to move to town.

The difficult life of this era certainly contributed to her strong opinion. The strenuous rhythm of the day. The long hours spent scraping for each need to be taken care of. Growing or butchering the food. Mere survival depended on tenacity and strength. Many aspects of daily life were involved.

The longing for a different lifestyle was undeniably there.

My Grandmother felt the need for an easier life. A life in town without all the work on the farm from dawn until dusk.

Living closer to the neighborhood grocery store, the town restaurant sounded so perfect! So at some point, she moved. I am not sure when that was or if it was when my mom was still at home. I feel that it may have been though. My mom did not tell stories of living in town so

I am not sure.

My mom longed for the country life. At some point, we lived on a three-acre parcel with a large garden, pigs, cows, chickens, and geese ( that;s a story for another time!) when I was small. I think my early years in this country's atmosphere got in my blood.

As a young adult, I lived in apartments and rented houses in town. But always the longing to live farther from people, closer to animals. Wanting a view of the sunset with nothing but trees and mountains framing it. Sunrises with no obnoxious noise, only that of the rooster crowing ( although that may be debatable to some!) A garden with all the room you could need to grow as many crops as you can dream up. The seed catalogs were like the wish book at Christmas time as a kid!

I wanted to raise my own chickens for eggs and meat. I wanted to raise rabbits for meat. I had dreamed of owning horses since I was a little girl. I made all these dreams come true, plus a goat herd that I raised for milk.

After many years of this, a failed long-term marriage required me to give this all up. I lived in the country for a few more years. Then I met my husband. We moved into an apartment in town. I was ready. I was ecstatic that the store was only five minutes away. The restaurant is only a few blocks away. Our apartment is on a quiet street in a small town. I had done my years of animals and large gardens. I was ready for less.

I understand Grandma. I also understand Mom. You know when we are young we sometimes say, I know what I want and that will never change. Not realizing at the time in our youth that life would change, all the while we are changing. Our relationships change, our perspectives differ from that youthful approach to life.

Life runs full circle and we will round those bends as we go. Enjoy the process and look back with nostalgia. I am thankful for my mom's stories about my Grandma; they have given me a perspective of the generations of strong women ahead of me, and let me see certain things in my life tend to be an echo of past generations, yet a light into the future.

By Sandy Osborn

January 21, 2026

#extraordinarygod