By Bob Golden

Have you awoken before daylight, and left the warmth of your home, to check the cattle in your care?

Have you kissed your sleeping wife and child, then sofly closed the door, as the snow fell from the sky?

Have you seen the dawning of day, as the storm blows away, and the pogonip hangs heavy in the sky?

Did you thank God, when you saw them still standing there, in the lower valley at dawn?

Did that fifty mile drive back home, on rutted and washboard roads, seem a little smoother, and a little warmer, knowing all was well?

Did the smell of supper, and woodsmoke greet you, as you walked through the door?

Then you have lived, loved, and persevered. And you know the meaning of your life.

It is all these things that make a man and a family whole. Existing was never enough for you. Life is lived, it is not watched from the side of the road.