Remembering Words of Wisdom from My Late Father on His 84th Birthday
It’s funny how memories work. Along with grief. Sometimes it shows up at the least expected and the most opportune of times. On a glorious 70-plus-degree February day, I look out of my farmhouse window in East Moline, Ill., and think of my late father, Bob Davidson. Which is appropriate, as today is his 84th birthday.
We took advantage of the warm temperatures and hauled some manure on the farm today. It made me think of my dad, as he loved to haul manure, or at least he learned to love that project. Yes, there were days he needed to escape the household that was dominated by five daughters. He would just tell my late mom, “I’m going to haul manure.” He didn’t need any further explanation; my mom understood that dad needed a break.
As I look outside, my smile widens. Our neighbor is raising some sheep who also love these spring-like temperatures. It makes me think of my late father, whose side gig was raising and showing Registered sheep. Decades later, when one of our rams killed another one of our sheep, Dad decided to take a break from raising sheep. I begged him to have the opportunity to care for them. I would handle all the lambing, the feeding—everything. Dad liked his 15-year-old daughter’s ambition and agreed.
Later he said I got a heck of a deal. Those sheep were fed high-quality dairy hay, and I was paid from our farm, Pleasant Ridge Dairy’s, checkbook. I also reaped the benefit by selling high-dollar club lambs. I remember one morning after a late night of lambing, Dad reminded me of one life lesson that I had successfully mastered. “Find a job that nobody else wants to do and learn how to make money from it and you’ll find success.”
When it was time to go to college, my parents reminded me how much caring for those sheep for a couple of years generated.
And, today, I smile big and cry a little, too, as my late father taught me endless lessons about how to live a good life. One that brought happiness to others and intention to the world. Somehow, I lucked out by receiving the best father the world had to offer. Only if he lived a bit longer. Bob Davidson’s life lessons are carried with me daily and shared with my children and others often.
Happy heavenly birthday to my father, Bob. He would also have said that all of you, too, have found success, as you are part of the 2% club that is feeding the world. Not only have you found a job that nobody is willing or able to do, he would encourage you to keep putting one foot in front of the other, as the world is depending on you.
