Saturday, March 19, 2016

Girl Power!

Girls that grow up on the farm don't always develop their feminine side. When I was growing up on the farm I would do anything not to be stuck in the house dusting and cleaning.  You would find me following my dad around the farm fixing fence, cleaning pig pens, giving shots or feeding the livestock.  I became a good at running equipment, doctoring animals, figuring out feeds, and doing back breaking labor around the farm.  My dad's right hand man!
When I got married, my husband and I started up our own farm. Brad drove truck to bring home a paycheck so that we could survive.  I stayed home to raise our children and run the farm. My upbringing on the farm prepared me for this lifestyle.  So, I learned quickly how to run different equipment while Brad was at work.
As my daughter grew up she didn't have baby dolls and Barbies but instead had her animals - lambs, rabbits, piglets and barn kitties. Ashley was content to be hanging out in the barn.   She learned to drive stick shift at eleven and had her very own farm pickup (a Ford Ranger). When she was sixteen years old began to drive semi for her dad.  She became her dad's right hand man!
Now she is married, lives on the farm, runs our family trucking company that she took over at nineteen years old and expanded to a fleet of trucks with her husband.  She also has a one year old daughter. 
As I watch her daughter, Clair begin to develop a personality of her own it's becoming very clear that she is also going to follow in her mom's footsteps.  Clair is a brute at one year old!  She is tougher than nails.  Clair is only content when she is outside with the animals and loves to be out in the shop with her dad or papa. Mud and grease don't bother her either. 
 Her great grandma was determined to have a girly girl bought her a Barbie but much to  her chagrin Clair loved Barbie literally to pieces.  Barbie came to an untimely death in the shop. 
It's inevitable that Clair will probably become her dad's right hand man as it is in her blood.  Having a feminine girl on the farm will probably not happen. 

2 comments:

  1. Well, I can certainly think of worse things to run in the family! :) It sounds like all three of you had/are having great experiences as young girls. Girl power is right!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HA! I love it. Clair has some great models in her life.

    ReplyDelete