Farm Family

We, country folk, march to the beat of our own drum.  We do things a bit differently than most.  Child labor- yes, please!  Our kids are taught the importance of hard work and encouraged (if not mandated) to pitch in to do their share.  Country kids make the best drivers because they've had the most experience.    

Their clothes are sturdy and their boots are more than the latest fashion trend.  A ball cap and a pair of gloves are always close by.

Pipe moving is a rite of passage.  It's physically exhausting.  The early mornings and heat of the day test your character.  So do blow outs and plugged nozzles.  Muscles strain to at first move one pipe, and then to move one line.  Kids grow and mature with the grounding of an aluminum pipe.  But when the season is over, they walk a little taller realizing that they are not quitters.  No!  They are pipe movers!  And pipe movers can do just about anything.

And if someone helps you move pipe, you are a team.  One that watches out for you and has got your back.

What a blessing to have this team of pipe movers!

And, well, country kids are different because they're mowing the lawn with a zero turn mower at eight years old.  But not just mowing the lawn, they go out of their way to mow around a corn plant that has taken root in the lawn.  They're used to being different and empathize with things that are different.

Sunsets, sunrises, and singing birds are your pay.  It's enough to fill your whole soul with appreciation for where you live and how you live.

You can look out and count the bales of hay and thank God for the weather to make green hay.

You watch a tiny little seed grow into a 10 foot tall plant.  Along with it's associates, an immense jungle forms.  It all started with the faith to put the little seed in the ground, do your part, and turn the rest over to God.

You learn to push start 4 wheelers, jump batteries, change tires, and face problems.

No, farm life isn't perfect.  It isn't the only way.  But thank God we're a farming family!  We can nurture our kids as well as our crops.