Fields of Dreams

 

This is it.  This is life lately.  We are either in the ball fields or the hay fields.  Tonight we left the baby with a friend, the oldest went to the field to bale with Dad while the two middles and I went to play t-ball.  As soon as we were done, we rushed back to the field to help move equipment and get ready for tomorrow and then drive back to our friends' house to pick up the littlest one.  

The kids went to bed 1.5 hours late.  It is now 10:30 at night and I'm making cheese dip for my husband because he called and said it sounded good. I cannot help but oblige him after he works so hard for us.  

These are the days.  What a love/hate relationship I have with the land and the lifestyle.  I know that these days are not fun for anyone involved - kids or parents, but hopefully it makes for some wonderful kiddos that understand WHY we do WHAT we do to help feed the world.  Right now they seem to have an appreciation for agriculture and we hope that sticks with them throughout their lives.  We hope they understand why there are only fleeting glimpses of Dad right now and why Mom makes the baby take most of her naps in the carseat these days.  

In a few more weeks this will all be a memory.  But right now, we are living in all sorts of fields of dreams.  

The Sweetest Thank You

I believe thank you's are a forgotten art.  The act of acknowledging a kind act that another human has undertaken on behalf of you.

This is an odd story.  I sometimes post agriculture and nature photos on an open Facebook page where anyone in the world can see them.  I had a sweet, random request one day from a lady asking if she could please pay for my photo.  I'm no professional so I didn't feel like I could charge anything and was just delighted to share.   I sent her the original file of my photo and thought no more of it.  Following this, she and I struck up a friendship of sorts online.  She asked one day for my address.

... Isn't that how every 20/20 or Dateline episode ever starts???  'I loved your photo that I turned into a large canvas in my office.  Can I please have your address to thank you?'

But I did a quick risk assessment and decided she was rather harmless and sent her my address.  I am so very glad I did.  

This sweet lady, Miss Nancy, sent me a small canvas of my original photo.  I am continually flabbergasted every time I walk past it.  Not by the photography skills; rather, I am rendered speechless by how amazing some humans can be.  

We have several folks a year that need to borrow our dump truck to haul dirt for their yards and gardens and 90% of them are so awesome in repaying the favor with cookies, supper, garden produce, anything.  It warms our heart to help friends that are so anxious to express thanks.  I love that there is an unspoken rule about repaying favors in kind.  The barter system in our area is second to none.  

I didn't expect more than a note from this Miss Nancy.  Why would I?  I didn't have to exert my effort to provide her with my original photo.  

When a package arrived from her last week I was immediately moved to tears.  She sent me a tiny canvas of my original photo.  

Miss Nancy helped reaffirm our faith in humankind and remind us that most folks are good people.  Most folks want to give thanks for the things they have received in life.  

I know that this photo is not the best thing ever.  Not even close.  I am honored that she felt it was meaningful to her and asked to reproduce it.  I am even more touched that she sent such a thoughtful thank you gift to me that I'll keep forever. 

I know that my kids and I have not written nearly enough thank you notes to loved ones, but we a slowly but surely trying to improve this.  And the great news is that loved ones have given us unlimited opportunities.  This gift served as a wonderful reminder that we must continually give thanks.  

So tonight we received great pictures of our oldest son playing ball.  Kenyon looked through the photos and immediately asked if we could send a message to say thanks to the nice lady.  That made my heart warm.  I hope my kiddos keep remembering to give thanks for the wonderful folks in their lives.  

Video Games

An oldie but goodie from several years ago. 
This child fell off the top of a panel
and didn't have such a great landing.

Our kids get hurt a lot. 

It bears repeating:

Our kids get hurt A LOT.  

One is currently waiting on a fingernail to grow in after it was smashed by a brick (But Mom, the brick was already starting to come down when he slid his hand right in the way!), one child has a nail sliced in half from a nasty lead rope accident with his show heifer and we just got done doctoring an unenviable case of hives.  We had more concussions than I'd like to count.  Fallen off the top of trailers, top of panels, been kicked, been stepped on... staples, stitches, casts... the list is endless.  

Through all this, my husband and I buckle down and do our best to triage and treat each case and run to the appropriate medical facility if necessary.  However, we try not to get mad at our kiddos for getting themselves into a bind.  

Why?

It could be worse - they could be inside playing video games.  

We knew a kid once that was welding on a panel and managed to burn down an entire machine shop.  Equipment, tools and supplies were all destroyed.  It was rather devastating.  However, a friend stopped by one day to chat and reminded the family that things could have been worse - the kid could have been inside playing video games.  We've clung to that wisdom and repeated it endlessly over the years.

They will learn about gravity not from Mario Brothers (is that even still a thing?) but from dropping bales from a barn loft.  

They will learn about pulling weeds not from Farmville (again, sorry for the dated references but this is all I can think of) but from busting their backsides in the garden. 

And they'll learn how to run from snakes, well, from me.  That's my favorite contribution.  Running from snakes to find a long shovel and 'relocate' them (to heaven).  I whisper that last part so my husband doesn't hear me.  

We hope we're giving them a childhood full of old fashioned experiences that allows them to have stories to tell when they grow up and fills them with wisdom to help them be functional adults.  

Wisdom comes from experience.
Experience is often a result of a lack of wisdom.
-Terry Pratchett