PASS IT ON DOWN THE LINE
Here at the ranch, we are forever plunking a kid on one of our horses, just as we were plunked when we were kids. We are passing the legacy on down the generational line, and not just with horse plunking! Becoming grandparents for us was just about the most life-altering experience imaginable, second only to having our own children. I know everyone has heard someone carry on about being a grandparent, but you just don't "get it" until you are one.
Becoming a grandparent gives you the feeling of carrying on a strand of life that began before you and will continue long after you are gone. Because of this, there is this overwhelming feeling of needing to share the important things with your progency once removed. Things like honesty, integrity and a work ethic. Grandparents also have this pressing need to keep their grandchildren safe and healthy.
We discovered from our oldest granddaughter how important natural food is to the human body. When she was about four, we finally figured out why she was having such violent mood swings. She has an extreme allergic reaction to any kind of food dye, especially red 40. 
If you have not spent a lot of time reading food labels, you probably don't realize how many food products are enhanced with red 40 and yellow and blue food additives. We had no idea until that day that a red maraschino cherry could cause our darling girl to become the lead role in The Exorsist! That started our family thinking about what we were all eating on a daily basis.
We started reading food labels and tried harder to eat everything closer to its source and not to eat anything that had an ingredient that we couldn't pronounce. It doesn't take much research to discover that food in America, even that food which looks like it is natural, has definitely been fooled around with. Dairy cows are given hormones so they will produce more milk. Chickens are fed a diet that will produce that beautiful lemon-yellow yolk instead of the normal more orange color. Cattle have been herded into feed lots and fed corn instead of grass to make the meat fatter. All of this factory-style food production has essentially altered our food, taking away important things like Omega 3's. It is no wonder the pharmaceutical companies are doing such a booming business, we are eating ourselves sick.
Helping young people learn about where their food comes from is so important today. Our granddaughters are fortunate that while they are getting plunked on top of the horse, they are also learning about the natural cycle of the environment. So many urban kids are so far removed from where their food originates that it doesn't mean anything to them. Milk comes in a plastic jug and carrots come in a cellophane package from the grocery store. Isn't that all you really need to know?
So the next time you find yourself "plunking" a child on a chair, a bike, or even a horse, stop to think, "What am I passing on down the line?"
