TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
BE COWBOY BY AMANDA GAINEY
W hen people hear the word cowboy, some picture rough men and honky-tonks. But the truth is, a cowboy hat, boots, and spurs do not make a cowboy. It goes much deeper than that. It is rooted in generations of history, heritage, and character. To the outside world, cowboy life may mean caring for the land and livestock God has blessed you with. But what the outside world never sees is that the weather does not care whether the work gets done. Rain, heat, or freezing cold, you still feed the cattle, check the fences, bust ice in the water troughs, and make sure everything on the ranch is taken care of. Sometimes it means checking heifers twice a day during calving season. Sometimes it means making the hard decision to put an animal down. Ranch life is not always easy, but responsibility does not wait for comfort. While those things are certainly a part of being a cowboy, to our family, that is only a piece of it. There is something sacred about the feeling that comes from a long, hard day of honest work. It’s biblical. God calls us to work with our hands and to prosper. Being a cowboy is about character. It is about standing up straight and looking a man in the eye when you shake his hand. It is about removing your hat when greeting a lady. It is about a handshake sealing a deal with honesty and integrity. It is about testing comfort zones and achieving goals. Most importantly, it is about being a God-fearing man who leads his family toward something greater than himself. Over the years, working on the farm has taught our boys more about life than any classroom could. While many kids their age can work a game controller better than anything else, our boys learned to operate tractors and heavy equipment. They have learned the value of hard work, early mornings, and long days. They study the bucking bulls that travel the rodeo road as if their futures depend on it. But beyond the skills and the long hours, they have learned what it means to be dependable, disciplined young men. Around our house, you will often hear the words “Be Cowboy.” To us, it has nothing to do with boots, jeans, or a hat. It is about integrity. It is a way of life. It is the quiet pride that comes from taking care of your family, your land, and your livestock.
“Be Cowboy” means carrying traditions forward for generations to come, building a family legacy that brings honor to your name, rooted in God and country, and built on values that do not bend. It is a mindset. It is a calling. It is the life God intended honorable men to live. My husband, Lance, has said since our boys were tiny babies, “I’m raising men,” and he has done exactly that. Time and again, someone stops me at the store or the bank and says, “You are the twins’ mom. They are the most respectful boys. You just do not see that anymore.” Those moments are the ones that stay with a mama the longest. Our community and our society need strong, honorable men, and we are proud to say we have raised two outstanding ones. And then there is bull riding, the most dangerous sport on dirt. As a mom, I feel the nerves creep in when I watch my boys climb down into the chute. I look around and hear the crowd talking about their favorite bulls—powerful animals and athletes who are bred and trained to give the best show possible. The crowd comes for the excitement. But for a parent, it is different. Yes, it is thrilling. Yes, it is incredible to watch. But what I see is every late night at the practice pen, every early morning, every sacrifice that carried them to this moment. I see my cowboys climbing on an animal that weighs nearly a ton, risking everything for eight seconds. It takes a different breed of person to willingly climb into that chute and nod their head. And that is exactly what a cowboy is. “Being Cowboy” is so much more than eight seconds. It is a life built on purpose, shaped by hard work, and anchored in faith. It is the land beneath your boots and the legacy you leave behind. It is teaching your sons that a man’s word matters, that his hands should never be idle, and that the measure of his life is found not in what he accumulates but in who he becomes. What a privilege it is to raise strong men in a world that needs them so desperately. We did not stumble into this life. We chose it, we built it, and we would choose it again every single time. So, “Be Cowboy.”
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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