The Lessons Learned Beyond the Sunrise and Sunset on the Farm
We are all guilty of posting the Kodak moments to social media. The sunrises and sunsets. The orange glow that starts the day and then later that evening, the disappearance of the sun.
On some days, we see big grins, showcasing kids' smiles stretched wide, holding the purple ribbon on the colored shavings. These photos are not only snapped on social media but are often sent out as Christmas cards, too. There are so many other examples, too. Life highlights that we love to share.
But what about the moments in between the times the sun rises and sets. The moments that aren’t as bright and certainly are not Instagram-worthy, but they do help shape our children for their future. While nobody wants to photograph kids arguing over who is going to water the calves during evening chores or unloading the fifth load of hay or fixing fence under the hot son, or heck, even chasing those darn Jersey heifers that got out ahead of Sunday Night Football. Believe it or not, those are indeed the moments that are shaping our kids to face the tough world ahead.
Look back on your own childhood memories. What do you remember the most? Sure, you’ll remember the first time you stood in first place showing your 4-H heifer, but likely you’ll remember the times when life didn’t go according to plan. Or according to your hopes. The times that you were disappointed and the times when life seemed unfair. Those moments made you dig deep and persevere.
I still remember when I was dressed for my senior pictures and then suddenly, my dad came inside and needed help IV'ing a very sick cow. Nobody else was around to help him. Let’s just say my pictures had to be rescheduled for another day and I never got the bloodstain out of the nice blouse I saved up to buy. I did learn that life isn’t fair, and I certainly learned the meaning of sacrifice.
These are the same kinds of lessons my kids are learning. They will always remember the summer of 2019 when our barn fire rearranged their summer plans. The days of swimming and playing outside got instantly replaced with helping their mother feed the off-site heifers that were scattered on four different farms and helping move away the debris, so we could start the rebuilding process.
Farmers understand all too well that more times than not, life doesn’t go according to plan. Disappointment happens. Maybe we need to stop capturing the sunrise and sunsets on the farm, as beautiful as they are, and smile, even when it’s difficult, to the times when life throws us to our knees and makes us throw up our arms questioning it all. These are the moments that not only drive us forward but also drive the future of agriculture forward, too.
