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Wednesday, 07 Nov 07
The eldest of four children, Savannah Graves just barely turned 12 this October. Between hunting, going to middle school, caring for chickens and harvesting her family’s garden, Savannah pulls more than her own weight in her family. Her two younger brothers both have autism and she does an exceptional job of caring for them and helping to financially and emotionally support her family. She says she doesn’t even think about their autism and one time forgot to even mention it to her teacher when she brought them along for a field trip. “It’s just not a big deal to us," she said. "They are my brothers and in my eyes they are no different from anyone else.”
Sandra Graves, Savannah’s mother, is surely the proverbial trampoline for this girl. Gaining her own aptitude for toughness as a successful competitive swimmer in college at New Mexico State University, Sandra owns the most beautiful working woman hands I have ever seen (see photo). Her produce that she sells at the farmer’s market pulls in more than $20,000 a year and she believes firmly in fostering a mental edge in her children. I was asking Savannah about her experience re-enacting the Bataan Death March, and she told me that she was crying and wanted to stop at mile 22, the base of a huge sandy hill. Sandra interrupted and explained “I just told her like it was. If you sit down right here at mile 22, the race is over. You walked all this way for nothing. Sometimes in life you just gotta suck it up.” Her words hit home immediately and I realized that it truly doesn’t matter what your venue or your medium is — however you decide to jump is up to you. It’s also up to you to keep jumping.
Sandra was about to say something else when the umpteenth person came up looking for Savannah’s famous eggs. “Sorry, sold out.” The man walked away cursing under his breath. Was Savannah standing there this whole time, waiting to explain more, looking to see if I had written it down? Nope, she was already serving up another glass of her famous lemonade, which also helps to support her hobbies and her family. “Would you do [the march] again?” I asked her. “Yeah, probably," she said. "But this year I’m going for that blue ribbon for my goat. If I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it right. I’ve got my eye on that blue ribbon this year.”
So there at the Las Cruces farmer’s market among the chile roasters, veggie sellers, and mariachis I saw another way to jump and walked away completely and utterly inspired.
Working girls
Comment on this Post While many of us come from a different background that didn’t include hunting or raising livestock, heck, maybe you don’t believe in guns — this girl has the whole hardcore thing dialed and she can honestly say she has a relationship with the food that her family eats and she is a team player all the way.
The eldest of four children, Savannah Graves just barely turned 12 this October. Between hunting, going to middle school, caring for chickens and harvesting her family’s garden, Savannah pulls more than her own weight in her family. Her two younger brothers both have autism and she does an exceptional job of caring for them and helping to financially and emotionally support her family. She says she doesn’t even think about their autism and one time forgot to even mention it to her teacher when she brought them along for a field trip. “It’s just not a big deal to us," she said. "They are my brothers and in my eyes they are no different from anyone else.”
Sandra Graves, Savannah’s mother, is surely the proverbial trampoline for this girl. Gaining her own aptitude for toughness as a successful competitive swimmer in college at New Mexico State University, Sandra owns the most beautiful working woman hands I have ever seen (see photo). Her produce that she sells at the farmer’s market pulls in more than $20,000 a year and she believes firmly in fostering a mental edge in her children. I was asking Savannah about her experience re-enacting the Bataan Death March, and she told me that she was crying and wanted to stop at mile 22, the base of a huge sandy hill. Sandra interrupted and explained “I just told her like it was. If you sit down right here at mile 22, the race is over. You walked all this way for nothing. Sometimes in life you just gotta suck it up.” Her words hit home immediately and I realized that it truly doesn’t matter what your venue or your medium is — however you decide to jump is up to you. It’s also up to you to keep jumping.
Sandra was about to say something else when the umpteenth person came up looking for Savannah’s famous eggs. “Sorry, sold out.” The man walked away cursing under his breath. Was Savannah standing there this whole time, waiting to explain more, looking to see if I had written it down? Nope, she was already serving up another glass of her famous lemonade, which also helps to support her hobbies and her family. “Would you do [the march] again?” I asked her. “Yeah, probably," she said. "But this year I’m going for that blue ribbon for my goat. If I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it right. I’ve got my eye on that blue ribbon this year.”
So there at the Las Cruces farmer’s market among the chile roasters, veggie sellers, and mariachis I saw another way to jump and walked away completely and utterly inspired.
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