Greetings all.
Please permit me to share my evening routine as a father, teacher and farmer.
People ask me how I manage three jobs in one day.
As a father.
As a teacher.
And as a farmer.
The truth is, there is no balance but it is just rhythm.
My evening starts by 4 PM.
5:00 PM - The Teacher Closes and I mark the last book, close my teacher bag, and breathe. The classroom is done, but the teaching never stops because waiting for me at home is my first and most important students which are my daughters.
5:30 PM - The Farmer Begins.
This is farm time and I change into my shorts and go straight to the backyard. My pepper beds are waiting and the soil I tilted, the goat dung manure I prepared, everything needs attention before night comes.
And guess who is my assistant?
My little daughter. She follows me everywhere. She stands in the middle of the bed I just cleared, pointing at weeds as if to say daddy, remove that one.
She is not disturbing me. She is learning. She is learning that food comes from work.
6:30 PM - The Father Takes Over
Hands washed. Soil off my legs. Now I am fully Daddy.
We play. We laugh. I carry her. She tells me stories in her own small language that only I understand. Sometimes she falls asleep on my chest with sand still under her tiny feet.
This is my favorite part of the day.
7:30 PM - Reflection
When she sleeps, I come online. I write on Ecency. I share my farm journey. I read from other farmers. I plan what to teach my students tomorrow and what to plant in my garden next.
Three roles.
One man.
One evening.
Being a father taught me patience.
Being a teacher taught me to explain.
Being a farmer taught me that nothing grows overnight.
You have to wait.
You have to water.
You have to weed.
Just like children.
Just like students.
Just like pepper.
So if you see me tired, know that I am not just tired from farming. I am tired from building lives in my home, in my classroom, and in my soil.
Fathers here on Hive, how do you manage your evening?
Do your kids follow you to the farm too?
Share with me in comments.