I had a few moments of panic this afternoon.
Picture this: two sweet little angel girls playing, nah...frolicking in their beautifully mowed and expertly landscaped yard (okay, so I'm creating a word picture...we are not that fancy, but we do have some nice looking mulched landscape). Anyway, picture their mother, trying to get the two smallest children down for afternoon naps, and some laundry put away, and some lunch dishes cleaned up, and some floors swept.
Then, picture this mother when her second daughter, the one who tattles, comes in and announces that her big sister is running up the road.
Her exact words were, "She didn't get hit, Mom. But, she's running up the road to Dad."
WHAT?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
So, I throw the baby back in his crib (well, I didn't throw him...but I didn't finish the song I was singing to him), run outside, with no shoes on, and chase after Anna. The whole time, all I could think of was the walk Anna and I took together, down the same road, just a few days ago.
It's all my fault.
She's going to be squished.
Why is Joe just STANDING there?
Thankfully, I can report that Anna is fine, not in too much trouble, and Joe isn't either. He was riding the 4 wheeler next to her, telling her to come along. (that makes it sound worse, doesn't it?) Miscommunication, too much trust and too little information were the main culprits here.
Joe has a great working relationship with Anna, and, I believe, trusts her a lot more to let her do things that I think a 6 year old should probably do. I am not a neurotic mother (I know, big shock). Actually, motherhood has relaxed me a bit. However, she is still my baby. She is the little one for whom I quit my career; the girl who spent every day at the park with me when she was just one year old; the girl who I drove to her first day of kindergarten. Which, I might add, was only LAST FALL.
Should I let her go and run down the road to her dad, who did call on her to come with him? It has taken me most of June to realize that she is big enough to be outside in our really safe yard by herself for quite some time. She is old enough to know her boundaries, but I know from all the scary Parents magazine articles and Datelines I have watched that it only takes a second for something to go wrong. Thus, I continue to be a spaz.
I need to let go, I know. Part of the charm of our rural life is that we can let go a little bit sooner, and let our kids be a little more independent because of the lifestyle we lead. Joe needs Anna to shut gates, help get cows in, hold tools and the like. I need her to be a big girl because I have other babies to tend to, but I'm not ready. She's still little in my eyes.
My little farm girl...strike that...my big farm girl is ready to be on her own. Thanks to her dad, she is confident to take on big kid tasks. I should be grateful for that...and should try to get her to make her own bed while I'm at it!
Showing posts with label farm safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm safety. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Friday, September 24, 2010
Safely Enjoying Fall
Did you know that this is farm safety week?
I didn't until my friend on Facebook, McDonough County Farm Bureau, reminded me. Thankfully, farm safety week did not land on the week that we were using our farmer scaffolding. All joking aside, farm safety week is during a time that slow moving vehicles frequent back roads; augers are being used at great length, and bleary eyed farmers are pushing to finish fields, despite being tired.
During this week, I have been late to various activities, as I tend to be. However, my tardiness has been increased thanks to the slow moving vehicles, tractors, wagons, what-have-you that are taking up road space and going roughly 3 miles per hour. Even though my frustrations are great, I have to take a minute and remember that the person behind that wheel is some one's dad, uncle, grandfather, husband, wife, mother, daughter, aunt or cousin. Someone who would be mourned greatly if a person like me, late to a mom's group, were to compromise their safety by following too closely or passing without really having a lot of room. I have to remember that they are just trying to be safe.
Unfortunately, nearly every farm family has some sort of "war story" in regards to a farm accident. A friend of mine just called to tell me her friend lost a brother tragically in a farm accident. My grandfather was nearly crushed by a tractor as he was unloading it from a trailer. We have had close calls with fingers, fingernails, heads needing to be stitched up and the like. However, a tragedy, knock on wood, has never occurred. I believe this is truly to the credit of the farmers in our operation.
Joe especially, maybe because I spend the most time with him, is freakishly safe. He calls my dad's mower, the one he walks behind, the "Man Killer," and regularly calls him when he's working with it. When his job is to watch the unloading auger during harvest, he does not allow any of our children to be anywhere near him, as disappointed as they may become. That's not something you mess around with. As irritating as it may seem at times, Joe never wears his wedding band. When we first started farming, I would hound him to at least wear it to church. However, I just found it in his "junk" drawer as I was rummaging for some change. A few short months ago, I would have been irritated with him, but I am thankful he has a finger to wear the ring on, as some farmers have lost a digit thanks to proclaiming their love publicly by wearing a wedding ring while working on equipment or with livestock.
There's too much to lose if one does not exercise safety on the farm. Period. I am thankful that I haven't had to endure a loss of a loved one or take anyone to the ER because of negligence or a freak turn of events, but there are those who have. For them, I am deeply sorry. There have been times that I haven't been able to reach either Joe or my dad, and I have played out the absolute worst in my head, only to be, thankfully, corrected by the simple call proclaiming that they couldn't hear their cell phones.
Going to get preachy here: Even though it's annoying to be following equipment on the road, or having to wait for a combine as it moves from a field to the road, please exercise caution around farm vehicles and equipment. Remember that someone like me is expecting a loved one home to kiss my daughters good night.
I didn't until my friend on Facebook, McDonough County Farm Bureau, reminded me. Thankfully, farm safety week did not land on the week that we were using our farmer scaffolding. All joking aside, farm safety week is during a time that slow moving vehicles frequent back roads; augers are being used at great length, and bleary eyed farmers are pushing to finish fields, despite being tired.
During this week, I have been late to various activities, as I tend to be. However, my tardiness has been increased thanks to the slow moving vehicles, tractors, wagons, what-have-you that are taking up road space and going roughly 3 miles per hour. Even though my frustrations are great, I have to take a minute and remember that the person behind that wheel is some one's dad, uncle, grandfather, husband, wife, mother, daughter, aunt or cousin. Someone who would be mourned greatly if a person like me, late to a mom's group, were to compromise their safety by following too closely or passing without really having a lot of room. I have to remember that they are just trying to be safe.
Unfortunately, nearly every farm family has some sort of "war story" in regards to a farm accident. A friend of mine just called to tell me her friend lost a brother tragically in a farm accident. My grandfather was nearly crushed by a tractor as he was unloading it from a trailer. We have had close calls with fingers, fingernails, heads needing to be stitched up and the like. However, a tragedy, knock on wood, has never occurred. I believe this is truly to the credit of the farmers in our operation.
Joe especially, maybe because I spend the most time with him, is freakishly safe. He calls my dad's mower, the one he walks behind, the "Man Killer," and regularly calls him when he's working with it. When his job is to watch the unloading auger during harvest, he does not allow any of our children to be anywhere near him, as disappointed as they may become. That's not something you mess around with. As irritating as it may seem at times, Joe never wears his wedding band. When we first started farming, I would hound him to at least wear it to church. However, I just found it in his "junk" drawer as I was rummaging for some change. A few short months ago, I would have been irritated with him, but I am thankful he has a finger to wear the ring on, as some farmers have lost a digit thanks to proclaiming their love publicly by wearing a wedding ring while working on equipment or with livestock.
There's too much to lose if one does not exercise safety on the farm. Period. I am thankful that I haven't had to endure a loss of a loved one or take anyone to the ER because of negligence or a freak turn of events, but there are those who have. For them, I am deeply sorry. There have been times that I haven't been able to reach either Joe or my dad, and I have played out the absolute worst in my head, only to be, thankfully, corrected by the simple call proclaiming that they couldn't hear their cell phones.
Going to get preachy here: Even though it's annoying to be following equipment on the road, or having to wait for a combine as it moves from a field to the road, please exercise caution around farm vehicles and equipment. Remember that someone like me is expecting a loved one home to kiss my daughters good night.
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