Farm Boys

I grew up on a farm in the same county that we live in now and my husband spent a lot of time on his grandparents farm. Yes, we are "from here". We grew up dirty, not because my mother didn't make us take baths, but because we spent our days playing in the dirt, or mud, or grass. We had our own tobacco plants that were just ours and the money when it sold lined our pockets. We grew up working. Working in gardens and in shops and in barns.
As with most adults that grew up on a family farm there was a time that we wanted to get away from it. A time when it was not fun or cool to be dirty and to work in the fields and barns and shops. We went off to school to get degrees or got jobs in factories.  We worked 8-5 or third shift and only saw each other in passing. We managed projects and made deadlines. It was satisfying and it paid the bills.
Then there came a time after we had children that we realized the life our parents had provided us was actually a pretty good one. A life where our parents and grandparents worked along side each other every day on the farm making a living and providing for us. There came a time when I realized that that is what I wanted for my own children. I wanted them to be farm boys. I wanted them to dig in the dirt and to have grass stained knees, farmers tans and dirt under their nails that no matter how hard you try never comes out.
As our children grow into men I find myself appreciating the gifts that the farm gives them more each day. It teaches them to work...hard. Sometimes we have conversation about what is the worst job. Is it digging carrots or cutting kale? Are they worse than cleaning out the barn?  The conversation always end with the conclusion that no matter how bad the job is it still has to get done. So they still pick the kale and dig the carrots each week. Sometimes they say that when they grow up they will never work on a farm but we will wait and see.
 The farm teaches them to try new things and to conquer fears. It teaches them to be patient and to hurry up. It teaches them compassion and how to stand your ground. It teaches them to DRIVE. That is the lesson they are most excited about right now. Our oldest growing boys is learning to drive the tractor. Not just drive but to bush hog, and then to mow hay, and rake and bale... Our youngest is taking over his brother job of mowing the yard. These are not lessons for the faint of heart. They are also not lessons that this mother wants to teach. They are my babies and its hard for me to realize sometimes that they are growing into men and that no matter how hard I try it must happen. It is our job to guide them on this journey but it is in the end their journey. Daddies are much better at teaching these lessons. They teach and instruct and then watch from afar as the adventure happens. They know what it was like to be a farm boy and to be on the journey into manhood or maybe the journey to be a farmer but we will wait and see.