Single Dad For A Month

Single Dad For A Month


It’s been a while since I made the time to make a post. Hay season is upon us, changing water two and three times a day, the usual chores with cattle and horses and my wife is taking a class in Colorado for a month; which means I have our son to myself for some quality time.

Certainly, having both sets of grandparents nearby is a tremendous help for those nights when we are baling from 9 pm until 4:30 am, taking a two hour nap and continuing at 6:30 until noon. They are also very helpful on those nights that I have meetings to attend, County Farm Bureau, Department of Water Resources, Department of Fish and Game, etc.

Forget keeping regular sleeping hours without mom around. He is a trooper! Cutting in the swather, raking in the tractor and day baling in the tug are some of his favorite things to do, as long as he has his books to read when he gets bored. A fanatic about changing water as well; quite the hand helping move swing line, dragging hose and carrying clamps for his ol’ man, he gets upset on the mornings he sleeps in and I’ve changed the water before he rises. I’ve come to realize how important it is to start education children at an early age; their minds are sponges.

Already, at the age of three, he is setting timers on the pumps, starting the pumps, connecting and disconnecting handline, controlling the throttle for the balers in the tugs and starting the ATV to move it to the next riser. We are even sharing the chores: he waters the lawn and feeds the dogs, I water the dogs and mow the lawn; he hays the horses in the barn while I hay the bulls on the hill; I cook the meals while he sets the table and I wash the dishes while he dries. For entertainment, he gets to choose 1 hr of television per week, has an hour each day to play with his toys & ride his bike and we have 30 minutes of story time each night.

Reflecting on the past two weeks I cannot help but wonder if our country would still have a childhood obesity problem if more parents would simply take responsibility for teaching their children proper work ethic, eating and sleeping habits and shut off the computers and televisions. Stop blaming everything else for problems and look within yourself.

Despite our both missing mom, we are both looking forward to another two weeks of father son time. Taking advantage of the time and opportunities that we have to spend with our children should not be ignored nor passed by.