What this Farm Kid Took for Granted

Being raised on a farm was the best gift I ever received.  I just didn’t know it then…when I was 5, 12, or even 16 years old. But I do now! 
 
I spent the past two weeks reliving my childhood while trying to juggle farm chores, my office job and watching my little niece, Sadie.  I thought, what can I get done in the wee hours of the morning before she gets here and what can wait for her to “help” me with?  My poor father must have had one hell of a time as my sister and I followed him around 25 years ago with egg baskets and empty feed scoops.  I watched Sadie copy my every move – fill her scoop with grain, put the hose in the water buckets, and reach for all the eggs in the chicken coop.  She is one well trained 15 month old farm girl! The thing is, we all probably learned more than we will ever realize, when we were little 5 year old sponges. 
 
Growing up on a farm means we had the passion and love for agriculture engrained in us first hand.  Having interests in agriculture nurtured from an early age can help individuals become part of the next generation of farmers, which is increasingly important as the global population continues to grow.  Sadie, it seemed, already felt like she had a certain responsibility and wanted to do her part in order to finish all the work that needed to be done.  Sadie never needs to know she was slowing me down in the sweetest of ways (until she reads this in twenty years).  What slows me down now is a learning curve for her and in return will contribute to the future I’m certain. 
 
Each morning we ventured to the barn.  The word “gentle” quickly became part of her vocabulary after throwing just one egg! She stared at me, as if she acknowledged exactly what I meant and gently placed the remaining eggs in the basket.   Same goes for the grain, as I watched her dump the scoop full of grain into the long grass, then with a look of worry on her face and a slight grin; she tried to pick up all the pieces.  I remained optimistic.  Just when I had enough chicken coop, horse-petting, piglet fun and kicked off my boots in the house…she put her little legs into my big barn boots and held up her tiny shoes, while pointing at the door.  Dammit!  Better practice what I preach, as I’d much rather have her playing in dirt than staring at a screen pushing buttons, so she won and out we went again. 
 
My sister told me the first day she brought her over, “she really likes picking flowers.”  I thought to myself, I love picking wildflowers while walking the dogs, so we’ll do this together and I’ll get my mason jars ready with water.  As her little hands would finger the petals she would kiss each flower.  After my initial laugh it seemed quite beautiful.  An adult would look so silly kissing flowers, but a child can get away with this.  I think this is something that humans lose as they grow older and become more jaded.  I hope Sadie kisses flowers for the rest of her life.   
 
As I watched her point and listened to her somewhat rehearse animals’ names and sounds I thought of how lucky she is to have this as part of her life.  She has already been exposed to much more than the average child from spending time at my parent’s farm and here.  She will be able to learn the life skills that I learned at such a young age: patience, responsibility and how to care for something beyond yourself long before you need to.  At a young age it was instilled in me to not waste food, to close anything  I opened, to appreciate land (as I now know it is one of the only things that really doesn’t depreciate in value), take care of what you have and don’t make excuses.  Sadie is already growing up this way with these precious gifts all around her.  It’ll hold her in good stead throughout life.  I know it did for me.  At the time I never knew that animals and vegetables in my backyard wasn’t something that every kid had the privilege of having and this farm kid took it for granted. 
 
Growing up as a farm kid myself, it didn’t matter that I was a girl.  Farm kids develop a strong work ethic, sense of responsibility, appreciation for land and animals and an understanding of where their food comes from that would be hard to teach anyplace else.  Feeding animals every single day teaches responsibility.  Stubborn animals teach the value of team work.  New born animals taught me to be gentle and have patience.  Fields full of hay bales that had to be loaded and unloaded taught work ethic.  Moving cows and horses 20x heavier than me taught me courage.  That unforgiving smell of manure teaches humility (and the importance of good hygiene!).  And at the beginning of a new day, the sunrise creeping up over a field full of healthy animals, taught me happiness.  I feel blessed to have grown up this way and am excited to pass those lessons on to little minds. 
 
When Sadie’s feet start growing a little slower I’ll be the first one to buy her that tiny pair of cowboy boots!   Until then, anytime she comes to visit she will leave with lots of new skills and a little bit of manure stuck to her shoes.  One filthy, sweaty child to go (and one very tired Auntie)!