How did this happen?

Raising four kids on a dairy farm was nothing short of a miracle and that they all grew up without losing a limb and me losing my mind was the icing on the cake. The energy it takes to maintain a house, a farm and the demands of parenting could generate enough power for a small city but it’s not something you are conscious of when you’re chasing cows that get out in between making cupcakes for the classroom or sub sandwiches for the baseball team.

On the other end of that energy sucking lifestyle is a reward you can’t imagine until it happens — grandchildren. We have one granddaughter and a grandson on the way, and they have changed our world permanently. 

I have the luxury of watching our granddaughter one day a week. Harper Sue is five months old and is the queen of our hearts. When I volunteered to keep her on Mondays, I figured, “She’s a baby, she will sleep all day and I won’t have to worry about rearranging my work schedule.”  Little did I realize how little I would care about work when Harper came in the door. From the moment I take her out of her car seat she governs my day.

How does a five-month-old take over a workday? With her simple existence. Two weeks ago, I flew home from covering a show in South Carolina and climbed in bed at 1 a.m. Harper Sue showed up a few short hours later and after we got off a two-hour conference call, I sat down with her in the recliner and we napped together for three hours.  Had you told me that I would be napping with my granddaughter for three hours on a Monday I would have given you a laundry list of reasons why that would never happen. And yet when we woke up from our siesta, I didn’t have a care in the world except that blue-eyed baby girl cradled in my arms.

If you’re parenting young children, don’t give up. Those expensive and demanding human beings will likely usher you into a role you’ve been waiting to fill. And it’s worth the pain, suffering and financial toll of every destructive toddler, heartbreaking adolescent, and rebellious teenager.

Melissa is a farmwife, mom and freelance writer residing on a dairy farm in southern Michigan. She is available for speaking engagements by contacting her at farm.writer@hotmail.com. Visit her blog at www.knolltopfarmwife.blogspot.com.