It's not about the money...

     If you want to earn millions of dollars, I am doing the two things in life that you do not want to do. I work in education and I am a die hard farm girl. However I think that these are two of the most rewarding passions anyone can pursue. Just not financially.
     When embarking on our bovine endeavor our resources were very quickly depleted and I realized that if this was going to continue I needed to do something a little different with our finances. My answer to this problem was to get a second job. And where did I apply you might ask? The local Tractor Supply Company. Finally a job where it is okay to bring out my inner redneck girl.
     So I am really writing this post for one of my coworkers, who after friending me on Facebook decided to read my blog. Not a bad thing. I WANT people to read what I write. I just never actually think about WHO reads it. It made me a bit self conscious but after a couple days of thinking about it I decided that it was a good thing. After all, he admitted that he does not like to read. And yet here he is reading my blog. SO...go me. Anyway back to working at Tractor Supply. I have worked there for about a month now. And things are great. I work three or four shifts during the week after I get out of school. The money is good and it also provides a discount on feed and supplies. Not a bad incentive to be good at your job.
     But as I was saying. Farming is definitely not about the money that can be earned in doing it. If you were to calculate man hours compared to profit and loss you would be seriously disappointed. Yet there are many people like me, who are getting back to their roots and working their own farms.
   Why would they do this? Who wants to work all day at a full time job, and then come home to feed animals and clean stalls and fix fences? Who wants to have to worry about all of the vet bills and hassles of worrying about the health and safety of a herd of animals? The answer...
     People who are real. In all my days of working on/around/with farms all of the people that I have met are down to Earth, real people. They do not have delusions of grandeur or aspirations of owning that fancy car and huge house. They are honest, hard working people. The ones that I want to be around. Tractor Supply has helped me connect with those people. (another bonus to the job)
     Back to the point though. No matter how bad a day I have had or how tired I am I know that I can go to the barn and feel better. Even stringing fence with Jay and Aeryn after a long day just makes me feel...satisfied. Like somehow, all the hardship, is worth what we are doing. I know that personally, my gains are worth the extra time and effort that we are putting in.
     My children are happier and healthier for all of the work that they do. Even Alex. He is out in the field with us feeding and fencing and having a good time. I look at them and realize that they already know more about life than most adults that I know. Aeryn knows the rigors of a hard days work. But she has also learned the benefits. Alex already knows safety rules and where he can and can not go without someone being with him. He has learned what an electric fence is for and not to go into the pasture alone. How many other people have toddlers who know these boundaries?
     So for us, it is not about the money. I am willing to put in the hours needed at TSC for us to continue this adventure. We will continue to learn and grow. And I will continue to write. Lets see if my coworker continues to read.....