Being a Father and a Farmer can be a struggle - Time
The struggles of being a farmer and a father of 2 children are real. I am the stay at home parent while my wife @stryeyz pays our bills by working a regular job. There are a whole list of projects, chores, cleanups, etc. that all need to be accomplished, yet the one thing I seem to be unable to do is just that, finish a task completely. Everything I do ends up in mid stream due to the demands of the boys.
These feel like they are all standard parent things to go through so I don't want to whine about it, more think out loud. For the most part the youngest (8 months) is a very happy boy aside from the teething screams. The older (3 1/2 years) boy is in the testing boundaries phase and is constantly talking back and being defiant. Typical 3 1/2 year old boy I think.
My biggest struggle is the time management and task management that are limiting my ability to complete a project. Every time I start working on one of my list items I will get approximately a 1 hour stretch, then it is broken by the needs of the kids. I am fairly productive despite this, it just seems to sap my enthusiasm sometimes, which can lead to a decline in productivity. Most of my longer periods of time to work are when @stryeyz is off work on weekends and is watching the boys.
I feel like I'm wrestling time and I get breaks between rounds to work.
But it is still worth it as the boys get to grow up in this and know where their food comes from. They have their hands in the dirt and super strong immune systems.
Thanks for reading my bit.
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
All images are original works of Fleming Family Farm unless otherwise notated and credited.
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@flemingfarm You're not alone! I nearly thought I was before I stumbled upon this (Thanks @wholesomeroots) I'm a stay-home father of two (2 & 3.5) and it's our first year at our new property. Also our first year with our heirloom tomato farm! It's comforting to know that others are living the struggle and making it work. It's not easy and I'll vouch for that any day! Everything here is partially complete, but I try to remind myself it's all temporary. What matters most is there the whole time. In farming, time is money. But, with parenting time is priceless.
It seems to be an unspoken or not shared topic in a large sense. It took me a while with the first to get a system down that felt comfortable, and upon having the second everything went back to chaos for a while. I have the good fortune to have both boys born in November which meant that by the time I was needing to till the garden they were able to hang for an hour or more without me being at their side.
I am a bit worried about my project completion issues but I hold out hope that once the youngest is a bit older it will afford me a moment or two more to focus on the projects. I have a white board on our bedroom door that is covered in lists of things that need to be done. less than 10% have been checked off.... but they are getting checked off and that is the important part to me.
Time is priceless for sure. Once that moment is gone, it is gone for good.
Hello! This is my life! 2 years into stay at home and a 2 and 5 years old! Upvoted and resteemef
Tell me it gets a bit easier as they get older and are a bit more autonomous?!
tint bit at a time...
muito bom!
We are almost in the same boat. Except I drive Uber a few times a week. I feel your pain on the project completion end. Mine are two little anarchist girls aged 5 and 7. They love the garden and the outdoors and are starting to understand krypto. I will follow you to watch your progress. Good growing!
Good for you raising "hellions", the world needs that for checks and balances! Love of the outdoors and having hands in the dirt is so very important but I am also looking forward to teaching my kids about crypto. The potential is so vast for both fields, but crypto has a far steeper advancement curve right now. Agriculture is not seeing the same speed of change, but it is also millennia old and crypto is less than fifty years at most. Plus there are many aspects of agriculture that will likely never change or become obsolete. The same can't be said for crypto.
Enjoyed this. I too am somewhat of a stay at home father although I have a job at night and my wife a career during the day. We pass the baton each afternoon. It's tuff but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
That is burly. 2 jobs is not easy, though as long as they are fully different then one is a break from the other, but still that is a lot of hours. Good for you making it work!
Teething... My sis-in-law swears by frozen bagels. Numbs the gums, soft enough to gnaw on, can't choke on it, and soaks up the drool.
I don't know what to tell you about handling the time management aspect, but maybe it will be easier to figure out without the young'n screaming.
Good luck!
Thanks. Time management is an issue in my life in general but that is partly a product of having FAR too many interests for my own good.
The youngin is going for broke and pushing 8 teeth at one time, in various degrees of completion, so I expect his screaming to abate somewhat soon. Still though, that is a boat load of teeth to try to push out in short succession.
oh boy you hit the nail on the head. I am right there with you. Every single day, it is a challenge to find balance. Time for the garden, time for me (to write on STEEMIT) time for the house chores that the kids are not able to do, groceries, laundry on clothesline lol It get's absolutely crazy busy. Hang in there.
Is that delicata squash your son is standing in. We are growing that this year too.
Yes it is. Delicata do pretty well here. Granted squash like my property, though they are notoriously prolific most anywhere, I seem to do well given the space I allow for them. I'm sure your growing season is longer than ours being farther south so you could get a really good harvest per plant. I was able to get about 15 to 20 squash per plant when I fed them a lot of water.