Parenting Teamwork

If, somehow, my son makes it into some sort of post-secondary school, I will make sure my husband gets all the credit.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, I taught him how to read and write.  I suppose that counts for something, but what I realized over and over as we created his transcripts and filled in application forms, was that any success he achieves has almost everything to do with the way RM supported my son's many interests and helped him to pursue them.  A few examples.....

Just living on the farm, for one.  We basically moved here just for my oldest son.  Yes, we knew it would benefit the rest of our children, but my oldest son was the one who had an extreme love for animals and all things biological, from plants to bugs to ponds...you name it, anything alive that moved or breathed, he was fascinated by them and we just couldn't fulfill all of his many naturalist interests in the city.  So we made a plan and moved!

Once we were here, the animals followed shortly after (actually they came before we owned the farm with fish and hamsters back in the city).  My husband was willing to drive far distances to help him get the dog of his dreams and even helped him research which was the best breed for a family like ours.  Then, even chickens showed up in our garage right before moving to the farm.  My son was expected to oversee that.  That has now grown into full-out managing all things farm from the cows to the horses, pigs, dogs, taking in hay, pruning the grapes, weeding the garden in the summer.....he does it all alongside his faithful brother.

Somewhere in the process he discovered he had an interest in bees.  Crazy.  I was not about to help him with that.  But my husband jumped on it.  Out they went, two hours or more away, to buy a "case of bees"!  My husband knew this could only help him.  He taught him how to build the hives and let him go to it.  This was a big financial investment, but so worth it, as now he has 4 hives of bees and we get honey every year.  On top of that, he's been blessed to work alongside another man who is a senior beekeeper, so he's learning the ropes with him...I just see the Lord in everything he does, guiding him, making a path for him, directing his steps.

Later, when he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to be a vet, I heard of a great opportunity at a clinic nearby where a friend I knew worked.  My husband had to jump through major hoops contacting all the right people to make sure it was recognized as an official co-op.  Again, financial sacrifice was involved, as one of us had to drive 2 hours a day to get him where he needed to go....lots of gas, lots of time....but it was one of the greatest experiences of his life and really reaffirmed his love for animals and working in that kind of environment.

Most recently, he bought another dog.  For years he'd been researching female collies, dog breeding, etc.  I thought, really?  We don't have enough animals on the farm?  But my husband said, "Sure. Let's go."  Off they went....this time over 4 hours away.  This just isn't time my husband has, but he went.  Dog breeding followed shortly after with no success, but that didn't matter to my husband as that's part of the process of learning and running a business...it just doesn't always go as planned. He'll hopefully have success with puppies soon, but either way, he's learned so much.

We didn't watch the Superbowl, but I read a few highlights this morning.  One thing I heard Tom Brady say was how grateful he was to his dad and his ailing mom for all their support.  My son is not a star quarterback, but he definitely has star potential in his future.  I really think it has everything to do with how his dad has been truly the greatest supporter of every venture he's ever taken on, any interest he's ever had.  Tom Brady's dad was probably like that, too, driving him to every game, buying all the expensive football equipment, sacrificing time, money.....I know, of course, that it takes two.  Even though I joke that my job is just to keep everyone alive and somewhat clean, I realize my job it to be supportive of every crazy decision that gets made around here!  I'm so grateful that this is a two-person job and that I have a husband who has been willing to provide what I cannot as sometimes it feels like my head is usually in a washing machine or a sink.  However, if I do get any credit, I hope it's as "cheerleader of the year".  I would never have gotten bees or the amount of dogs we have.  I actually don't really love animals!  The kittens are cute and I like looking at the horses, but that's about it!  But I'm a great cheerleader....!  Once the crazy decisions are made and the large numbers of animals are actually on the farm, then I am excited and am behind whatever my kids do....100%.  Teamwork.  Co-parenting.  Love it.