Childish Aspirations

The old tractor at Weatherby Cranberry Company in Wisconsin brought back happy memories of a childhood growing up on a farm and hours tilling soil, cultivating corn, and mowing. However, there were certain chores around machinery and livestock that I was not allowed to do, and I had always wondered why.

I learned the answer many years later from my mom, after dad had passed. When I was around 10 years old, Christmas gifts of a Visible Man, a skeleton, and a microscope had put dreams of becoming a doctor in my young mind. Unbeknownst to me, when I chose that profession, my dad decided not to teach me to farm.

Farm equipment was dangerous, and sometimes people lost fingers or hands in accidents or machinery. Dad stated that I would need both hands and all my fingers to be a physician, so he limited limited my duties to protect my future.

Imagine putting that much faith in a child.

#farming #tractor #future #childhood