There’s a certain time of year I look forward to more than anything else: the outdoor farm show. A whole day to see the latest equipment, dream about the future, and, of course, catch up with friends. It’s my personal holiday. So, you can imagine my excitement last weekend—I could barely contain myself, counting down the days.
But, as farm life tends to do, things didn’t exactly go as planned.
First, our corn crop decided to be ready for silage chopping earlier than expected. No big deal, I thought. I scheduled the needed rental equipment, still figuring I could sneak off to the farm show on the last day. There was hope. After all, the lambs weren’t due until next week...
And that’s when I heard it—a soft bleat coming from the barn. Yup, the lambs had other ideas. They started arriving days ahead of schedule, and with about 35 of them due over the next few days, my week quickly filled up with barn checks, moving moms and lambs every few hours, all while handling loads of silage harvest. I was juggling newborns and tractors, and somehow, the farm show was fading into the background.
By Day 4, it was clear: no farm show for me this year. But just when I thought I’d made peace with that, the week had one last surprise. This morning, while tidying up the yard with the skid steer, I backed into the truck tailgate at full speed. Bang!
Now, here’s the thing—I’m not perfect. Usually, I’d yell a few “special” words and throw a fit, because, well, that’s my first instinct when things go sideways. But this time? I didn’t. I just looked back at the crumpled tailgate and thought, "Well, at least it wasn’t the side of the truck." And that was that. The new tailgate is already on order at the local auto recyclers—an $800 oopsie, sure—but I didn’t even blink.
I’ve realized that over time, farm life (or maybe life in general) has a way of teaching you to let go. Stuff happens—plans change, lambs arrive early, and trucks get dinged—but getting upset about it doesn’t help. In fact, I’m grateful I didn’t get mad. There’s a peace that comes with accepting things as they are, and that’s worth more than a tailgate any day.
So, no farm show this year, but here’s hoping for next year... unless the lambs have other plans!
—Farmer Rod
It All Started with Hope... and Ended with a $800 Bang
