Farm Kids Grow in More Ways Than One
My kitchen wall has pencil marks all over it with measurements—four foot three, five foot two, six foot three…and a dozen more marks indicating my kids’ heights at different stages of life. I never initialed which kid was which. Not that I need to know because the proof has been right in front of my eyes. Despite me begging the kids not to grow up, they did.
The proof is the fact that my pantry and fridge is always nearly empty and my kids text me, ‘We need food, mom.” The proof is in the outgrown boots and cleats and the pants that are way too short. How is it possible that in just three months, my youngest son jumped two whole shoe sizes? Although I didn’t set the bar very high, literally, all three of my children, Tyler, 19; Cassie, 17 and Jacob, 13 stand taller than me.
But really, the proof is seen in other areas, too. Watching the kids hitch up a flatbed trailer with a skidloader and bale spear on, and then hauling and unloading round bales for the next ten hours. Solo. The proof is seeing my kids lead the dry cow vaccinations on our farm. The proof is watching my kids’ tube-feed a calf and acting like it was no big deal. The proof is when our oldest son said he wants to come back to the farm after college and his responsibilities now include more than I can jot down. Dehorning calves, feeding calves, scraping the barns, vaccinating calves and cows, moving cattle, moving round bales, hauling wagons, raking hay, compiling genomic heifer prospect lists, breeding cows and working side by side with his father, uncle and grandfather and a crew of amazing employees.
Remember when your kids were pint sizes and you dreamt of them becoming independent? Well, my piece of advice is not to blink because one day you think, 'I wish they'd just grow up,' and the next day they seem to grow beyond your wildest imagination.
As your kids head back to school and back to college, pause long enough to take it all in. Look past the messy house and marked up walls and that unorganized stack of footwear. One day you can try to figure out which kid hit what milestone. But, I’ll let you in on a little secret: all kids grow up too quick, or at least quicker than this farm mama's liking.
Time is such a thief of joy, especially when it comes to raising children. One day, you bring them home from the hospital with all the hopes in the world and somehow, through the grace of God, they become all that you have imagined.
