Are we Ever Ready?

-


Children are a gift from the Lord; they are reward from him. 
Psalm 127:3

Well we are entering a new stage of life here at the farm and this mama just is not ready! I mean let’s face it are we as parents ever ready for that next stage? 

Our kids are babies and we want that phase to end because of the sleepless nights, then they are toddlers and we deal with tantrums, and so forth. Then we have the farm kids. I think our seasons of life are different and by that I mean... you get to drive on an adults lap, you get to drive with the truck in low and barely touch peddles, you get to drive on your own, you get to drive the tractor, and it moves on. Well Garrett has entered in to the drive the tractor phase of life.  

Now if I am being honest, I didn't see that for my kids! I am almost 35 years old and my parents didn't really let me drive the tractors much growing up.  In all fairness we didn't have the newer equipment that is here today, but even then I was never really expected to drive it, or much less asked.  Maybe it's because my grandpa relied heavily on my dad and aunt?  I don't really know.  I just never expected that my kids would be doing what they are doing at their age, yet here they are.  Of course here I am in the corner thinking that this is all crazy and they shouldn't be doing all this but they are.  They enjoy it! They look forward to their days and what they have to do. Garrett is really growing into himself this year and I am excited, scared, anxious, nervous, ok let's just say emotional about the fact that he has been seen spreading manure, pulling the truck out of a mud hole, discing the fields, and of course helping to spread lime on the fields.  I never thought that I would want them to not do something, but that "what if" monster creeps in on us moms who worry that we didn't teach them right, or they aren't ready for that next phase yet, or they just have way more to learn.   

I feel as we enter this new phase of life for Garrett, there will be much to learn on his end and mine (More mine).  I need to learn that he is growing up and I shouldn't want to hinder his ability to learn by holding him back.  I need to accept that this is part of the process and pray hard that I taught him everything he needs to know about how to be safe.  I have to trust that as he moves through this process he will make mistakes and someone will be there to help him learn.  I have to remember that he is responsible and willing to grow as a future farmer and in order to do that we have to encourage him to participate in activities that he can do.  No matter how I feel about the situation, I need to make sure that he knows I am excited for him (even though inside I am panicking).  I know that as he learns he will be able to show his younger brothers things and encourage them when it's their turn.  For now though, I am going to let him enjoy the part where he gets to earn his "oldest" child status and let him become more responsible and trustworthy through moving on to driving the tractor. 

Farming is hard work, but being a mom to the future generation of farmers often shows it's challenges.  This happens to be one of them because honestly...when is the right time to have your child learn how to run equipment?  We say 16 is when you can drive a car, is there like a standard for farm kids on when they can learn to use equipment?  I know there isn't but truly, I think now is the right time in Garrett's life to take on this next challenge.  I look forward to see where this season in life takes him and can't wait to encourage him throughout the remainder of planting season and harvest.  

Farming with Faith & Family Always! 
God Bless, 
Amanda

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hard work Pays off in the End

-
Image
Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.  Philippians 2: 14-15  Raising kids is hard! Honestly, you can read all the parenting books you want, but really there is nothing that will tell you exactly how to raise YOUR children.  Each and every child is different, but I feel like they learn things from the adults in their lives.   Many of our consumers here at the farm notice how well mannered, outspoken, and entrepreneurial our boys are.  The two older boys recently each purchased their own dirt bikes with their own money, and they also have made other small purchases of things that they want with their money. They work hard for their money.  Yes, we actually do pay the boys for the work they do.  They also help a neighbor, mow grass, and they find odd jobs to do that they can e...
Read more

Time is the Inevitable Thief

-
Image
  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.  Ecclesiastes  3:1  As we got ready to ring in the New Year, a song kept coming to mind, The Hymn of Promise, and it is seriously my favorite hymn.  It is a song that makes me remember my grandpa and just the start of a new beginning.  If you haven't heard it, you can find it on YouTube or any other place to find hymns but it always has me thinking about how there is a season for everything.  Now as farmers we realize that the seasons are very important to what we do.  Those seasons are valuable to us, but one thing I realized the other day as I was looking back on all things 2022 for the farm, is this past year went way too fast!  Honestly, where did 2022 go?  I went back through all my blog posts and I didn't get to write anything beyond April! Yet so much happened, there could have been some great posts, even better ways to tell our farm story and ye...
Read more

Long Days Lead to Strong Faith

-
Image
 "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."   2 Chronicles 15:7 Over the last seven weeks things have been a little crazy here on the farm.  We have gone through lambing season, we took our idea and ran with the lamb snuggling, and we started our maple syrup.  What did this idea of lamb snuggling do for the farm?  Over the course of the seven weekends, we had over 300 visitors to the farm.  Some people drove from faraway while others were local.  Either way, the support, the purchases, and the people hearing our story was incredible.  It goes to show that sometimes an idea can help a farm thrive.  In all honesty though, this venture of farming is not always easy.  There are times that it just seems like quitting or giving up would be a good idea.  Or maybe just going back to a small little hobby farm, but when we look at the way the world is turning, we know deep down that people will need t...
Read more