Before they could even talk, our boys were both
pushing toy tractors around the living room floor making ‘vroom vroom’ noises
and harvesting imaginary fields of wheat.
Not long after his first birthday, our oldest son
Grayson developed an obsession with combines - green ones in particular. At
bedtime, he’d ask for stories about combines. At every store we visited, he’d
find a combine toy to beg for. And on his third birthday, he persuaded his mom
to spend hours fretting over a homemade combine cake.
My dad likes to say that our boys have farming in
their blood, though it may be a little early to make that claim.
I am proud to say I grew up on a small family farm,
and while I still make the trek home to contribute whenever I can, it would be
a bit far-fetched to claim that farming is in my blood. My mom tells me that as
a little kid, I used to tell her how I was going to grow up and be an ‘office
guy’ that worked at a desk.
I’m all grown up now, working a desk job just like
I said I would. It’s a three-hour commute from Red Deer to the house and yard I
grew up in, and with kids and careers to worry about, it’s not always possible
to just drop and run when things get busy on the farm. While I enjoy taking a
turn on the tractor at seeding time, or running the combine for a few days at
harvest, the bulk of the work is shouldered by my dad and my younger brother.
Recently, we loaded up the whole family and headed back to the home
country to lend a hand with seeding and spraying for a couple of days. Eager to
pitch in, I lugged bags of canola to the air seeder, took a lesson on operating
the new sprayer, moved equipment from field to field and other assorted odd
jobs. It was a very short trip, but our presence was appreciated.
The boys
were treated to a few tractor rides, which they chattered about for the entire
three-hour drive back to Red Deer. After seeing a high-clearance sprayer in
action for the first time, Grayson now describes it as a ‘Transformer Robot
Machine.’
Living so
far away and pursuing a very different career path has been tough at times. Without
question, my brother will be the one carrying on the Paré farming legacy and
he’s proving himself more than capable.
I still
feel a deep connection to the land and a certain sense of responsibility for. I
am grateful that my kids will have opportunities to be part of seeding and
harvest. They’ll get to drive an old truck around an open field, build forts,
do chores, work on tractors, change cultivator shovels and most of the other fun,
character-building stuff farm kids get to do.
Ever if we
are only frequent visitors at this point, it brings me peace of mind to know
the farm is there for us to enjoy, and will be for decades to come.
Leo is
a former Advocate editor. Contact him by email at newdeadline@gmail.com
or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LeoPare
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