This photo from the first year at our own farm holds so many memories. Photographer Ben Bender came over at dawn to capture us working, and we were so weary. It was near the end of our hardest season, and our bodies were tired, our nerves frayed. Looking back, those difficult days helped shape us and our business into what it is today. They refined us, and we softened our hearts under the pressure. We were malleable as it worked us instead of rigidly bowing our backs and refusing to flex and pivot with the change. And isn’t that how all HARD periods of life go? They reshape us, sometimes drastically, but not always devastatingly. In my experience, most of the reshaping has a positive effect when I look back on the process. I need to remember this, when life crushes in. It’s not the disaster of the moment, but the long-reaching benefit of growth that I should focus on. Growing pains are worth the trouble.