Summers were spent working from dawn to dusk,lines cast in the best fishing holes, and jumping from hay bale to hay bale even after you were told not to. Growing up as a farm kid seemed rough to the kids who did not. But in reality, it was the greatest blessing that I have ever received. You did not spend mornings watching cartoons, but going out and feeding all of the animals before the bus came. Your bedtime was when you heard your mom yelling for you out the door and your favorite color was either red or green, definitely not both. Life did not revolve around the latest video game or school drama; it revolved around FFA, hay season and the grace of God.
Being a farm kid means knowing everyone within a 10 mile radius. It also means that no matter where you go, you know someone's parent, grandparent or even great-grandparent. You know people not by their first name, but by their last name. Being neighborly does not mean waving at each other across the street but by clearing out drive ways in the winter, hooking a chain up to their truck after having some muddy fun or helping pull a calf from it's mother during a difficult birth.
Being a farm kid also gives meaning to traditions. The family farm was owned by six generations and it will someday be yours. People know where you live as "the Shelton's place" or five miles north of the blue barn (which has been gone for 40 years). It also gives you a sense of pride. Even though we farm kids may get rowdy sometimes, overall, we are good people. We are proud of the animals we raise, the crops we grow and the place where we call home.
Being a farm kid means that you are used to work. Throwing 50 pound hay bales 500 times is a minimum during hay season. Wrestling a yearling until it will walk beside you or coming in covered in scratches and bruises that you have no idea how they got there are also a norm.
Being a farm kid means life is not always easy. You learn that death is just a part of the circle of life; whether it's the calf that took too long to deliver or the coyote that got the hurt chicken. You also learn that every dollar is significant. On the other hand, being a farm kid prepares you for the real world and sometimes makes things a little bit easier.
Growing up as a farm kid meant that work became before play, school and sleep, cow tipping is NOT real and being honked at while driving a tractor down the road was normal. So before you call us "rednecks" or "hicks," remember that we are the reason you aren't naked or hungry.
Farm life isn't easy, but it has defined not only my way of living, but also who I am as a person. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
