It has been a long day, long week to be honest. Work had been it's usual annoying grind that week. I had been doing my side hustle, custom haying, on evenings after work and weekends. The family and I had been at a family reunion earlier this day. A change in the forecast, which is normal for the Ozarks this time of year, had brought chances of thunderstorms. I was really enjoying visiting family I hadn't seen in quite a while. The saying that you make hay when then sun shines however rang mighty true and I had to cut my visit short. So with much grumbling I jumped in the truck and left, to go get on a tractor and roll up 15 acres of hay that had been cut the day before. If the rain fell on it before I could bale it, I would have to spread it out and wait for it to dry another day. All while it steadily lost its nutritional value for my cattle.
The deck seemed to be stacked against me this year. Equipment breakdowns and stormy weather has been the norm. I felt like I was spinning my wheels and falling behind. I hated getting up and going to work only to come home and ride a tractor till dark. What the hell was I doing this for anyway. My friends are going to the lake in the weekend and I'm here in a field getting dirty and hot, just for some bales of hay.
I had about an hour of daylight left and about that much left to bale when my wife pulled in the field. She brought me Sonic cup full of tea to quench my thirst, I had forgot to bring a drink with me that afternoon. I drank it and watched my little kids playing in the vehicle, oh to be a kid again. I got back on the tractor and went back to it. I made a full round and as I was coming back to where my wife had been I saw the kids. They were dancing and running and trying to get up on top of the hay bales. It hit me, this is why I do it. It's not for me, it's for them. I'm their pop, I chase the booger man away and give them cookies after they brush their teeth before bed. I'm their provider, without me they would go without. This boring job I go to, this dusty, dirty, noisey tractor I ride is all for them. The hay feeds the cows in the winter so they can be sold in the spring. That helps provide the things my wife and children enjoy.
Watching them play in the field that I had been grumbling over made me laugh. Sometimes you gotta get a little dirty and be uncomfortable. It's worth it though in the end.
