This! This is how us Montana women get shit done.
I have a very close and incredible friend that lives a few hours’ drive away, and is currently building a home with her partner, her main man. They have a dream: home, property, dogs running happily ragged, all theirs.
It’s hard here in Montana, in most areas, to afford this dream. One often must endure some discomfort, some sacrifice, to make it happen. That used to be the norm; working hard for what you desire, then finding all that much more gratitude in the accomplishment.
Oakley halls lumber, her leather gloves becoming more worn with each sheet of plywood. She shimmies up ladders and stands, bent at the waist from sunup to sundown, as she holds a nail gun and pop/pop/pop secures shingles on the roof. Her muck boots show the trudging mud and snow they contend with daily. But the salt of her sweat brings a sweet taste to her tongue.
It seems there’s a different perspective these days; we build debt instead of sweat equity, we need 1000 more square feet to live comfortably, granite and hardwood and vinyl fencing. That’s what we deserve, and it’s still unlikely to make us happy.
Not Oakley, though.
She’s a hardworking, busting ass, get shit done with her bare hands, then celebrate with the greatest vibrancy you can witness, kind of woman.
I’ve looked up to her immensely since the day I first met her at the ranch and home supply store.
These are their accommodations while they build their dream. A romantic and extraordinary picture of the sacrifices made.
But they come together as a family, all lending hands to make it happen. Aren't these the cutest subcontractors you've ever witnessed?
They’re RICH with experience and satisfaction, with the deep gratitude of accomplishment, with the heart and soul that will live in these walls for all time.
I feel like one of the luckiest women alive to have such mentors in my life! That's right, Oakley's not the only badass Montana woman in my life. I, too, am RICH!
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