Sunday we had a strong wind out of the South, warm temperatures and an inch of rain. The kind of rain that paints the ground green. Mom was out of the house so I took the kids on an adventure.
I have to cut wood. Have to. I have a number of trees down and I’m running out of time. But we don’t have to kill ourselves cutting wood. I told the kids I would use one tank of gas in the chainsaw while they dragged limbs and stacked firewood and then we could have some fun. Well, we had fun the whole time. Dripping, soaking, pruny-fingered, wet sock fun.
Our chores behind us, we tromped off through the pasture to the branch to see how deep the water was. It was deep. And swift. Normally the branch is just a trickle. It’s the weak point in the fence that the neighbor cows use to come steal food.
We threw sticks in the water and watched them float away. We probed the water to see how deep it was. I warned the kids of the danger. The youngest fell in anyway.
I have a million things to do. I don’t have time to splash through the puddles, exploring pastures I have played in my entire life but if I don’t do this now, when will I? The farm is a family experience…I have to experience it with them. That’s kind of the point. I can sacrifice sleep to get the taxes finished. The kids won’t wait.
Chism Heritage Farm 
There comes a point in getting rain soaked after which you’re so wet that it stops being uncomfortable – at least for a while – and that’s when puddle stomping, splashing around, and getting muddy all seem like so much fun. We totally know about that here. Taxes are not like that.
…as long as you are warm.
I love it how you let your kids stay involved in things, and how you seek out moments to mix work with play, with them! 🙂 These posts are always so fun to read.
Oh, it’s like pulling teeth at times but I am careful not to push them out the door. I tell them the plan, put on my gloves, grab my tools and head out the door. They show varying degrees of lollygagging but eventually all show up to work. Then we make our play time count. For example, last night we just chilled out, watched Green Acres and ate store-bought cheesecake after dinner. Good times.
There are some chores we all do because that’s what people do in a cooperative arrangement when sharing a home. There are some chores they do for money. Let me tell you, convincing them to pack eggs for money is a lot easier than convincing them to wash dishes just because 1/6th of the dishes are theirs. And obviously, the unpaid jobs for 6 are more fun than the unpaid jobs for 1.
Priorities in order ? Check !!!