Valuable Lessons from My Father

Valuable Lessons from my Father

August 30, 2013

As I’ve attempted to put into writing some of my life’s experiences, one of the interesting differences between the days of my youth and the present time is my daily routine.

Even now, I have a hard time believing that we lived through such rigorous schedules. Times certainly have changed!

Back then, we were out of bed by 5:00 A.M. and as soon as Dad could urge us into our clothing and out the door, we were on our way to the corral to begin our morning chores.

If it was during the haying time in the summer season, it was important to water and feed the horses first, so they would be ready to work. Then an avalanche of chores was attached.

We had to milk the cows, separate the milk, feed the separated milk to the pigs, and feed the chickens. Dad usually had my brother and I start those chores while he began irrigating. It seemed that he knew when to return…just as the last cow was milked. (Just a child’s thoughts of course).

At the completion of the chores, Mom always had a delicious breakfast ready. We growing boys could hardly wait for that. There’s nothing better for the appetite than three hours of work before breakfast.

After breakfast, we were off to harness the horses and begin our day’s work consisting of mowing, raking and hauling hay from the fields. It was hard work but very rewarding to look back at the end of the day and see what you had accomplished.

To this day, I still enjoy that. A day’s work wasn’t complete until we drove the cows from the pasture to the corral to be milked again. Our supper was usually bread and milk. We loved it!

I can’t forget to give homage to our great horses for the service they rendered to our support. I think of those two horses with pure gratitude. They were so honest in giving of themselves.

They were well trained. They knew when to stop and when to go on voice command. They were so patient and whatever we asked of them, they were willing to do. I’m sure they would rather have been in the pasture.

We found that when we turned them loose in the pasture, they were reluctant to let us catch them again. Imagine that! I felt the same when Dad called me so early in the morning. I appreciated those horses for the service they provided.

Nearly every working day, we had something for them to do. If it wasn’t haying, we pulled fire wood for winter storage or if we needed them to drive cows, they were good for that.

My uncle liked to borrow one of them for the 4th of July celebration to enter the community horse race. It would have been hard to survive without them.

It’s life’s trials and training that polishes us. Our attitude of how we accept our bufferings determine what we become.

One of my greatest blessings came from my father teaching me how to work hard. This one value has provided food and clothing and the necessities of life for my family all these years.