We'd Like To Mention

The older I get, the more convinced I am that change is the only constant in life.

We cannot predict when our carefully laid plans will be absolutely trashed, whether it's by something we believed to be safely confined to the far-off future or by something we never saw coming.

For me, life changed in October 2024. My father's stroke launched us on a two-year journey through doctors' offices, tests, treatments and hospitals, as one medical diagnosis always seemed to lead to another. I assumed responsibility for his health and finances -- praying and worrying and hoping he'd make it through the cancers, clots and cataracts -- all while raising two young children and working full time.

It's been the hardest two years of my life. Changes have come hard, fast and from every direction. But, I am still standing, and I'm a better human because of it. I'm humbled, and I'm grateful. Every morning when I stop by Dad's for a cup of coffee, the silver lining sparkles.

Lately, thankfully, our morning chats are more about markets than medicine. After a career in banking and brokerage, he still spends his days comparing charts and following the news. It keeps him engaged in the now, and it gives him a sense of purpose. Once a trader, always a trader.

When he retired, he didn't stop doing what he enjoyed. It just looked different.

When I assigned Progressive Farmer's longtime crops editor, Pamela Smith, a story on farmer retirements, I figured she'd relate with her sources because she, too, had decided to "step back," which she argues is a more accurate description of retirement.

In the process of writing that story, "The Road to Retirement" on page 22 of the November 2026 issue of Progressive Farmer magazine, Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser, who we planned to prominently feature, died unexpectedly in a farm accident. I will always remember his kindness and deeply respect the way he walked through life -- true to his passion and his purpose, extending a helping hand whenever he could. It's impossible to quantify the positive changes he ushered into the world, unknowingly, just by being himself.

I imagine he has a lot in common with Jan Lyons, who shares the cover of this issue with her daughters. By all accounts, Lyons is a pioneer, but she didn't set out with the mission of blazing a trail. She forged ahead her way and, along the way, opened doors for others.

This issue is filled with stories about change, transitions and the way the past finds its way back to the surface. Not all changes are worth mourning; but neither are they all joyous. Some are intentional; others are forced upon us. It's completely fair to grieve for what once was and, at the same time, be grateful for what is. To carry forward, to figure it out, to find a way, because in the end, we're all just human.

Change is hard. Change is constant. But once in a while, the silver linings remind you there's a lot to be thankful for.

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-- You may email Katie at katie.dehlinger@dtn.com, or follow Katie on social platform X @KatieD_DTN

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