For our family farm we are a unique and complicated scenario. We are grateful for those we have but there has been a missing piece to our puzzle for more than 7 years.
In August of 2010, my husband and his sister, lost their father. They aren’t the only ones that miss hearing that joyful belly laugh and seeing that infectious smile. Parents lost their son, siblings lost their brother, and dear friends lost their best friend. There was even more than that visible loss at that time though. My husband lost the business partner he planned to have, our future children lost their grandfather and I lost my future father-in-law.
Being that we have a farm to operate, animals to care for and a family to raise, we try not to focus on the loss and take joy in the present. But there are so many times we are reminded that we have a missing generation. There is a piece of our puzzle that is lost and that we can’t replace. There is a person missing from holidays, birthdays and just each and every day and a person who my children will never meet.
For us we truly miss the day to day interactions we should have with our father and grandfather. The simple act of knowing that there is a gap in our family farm and that the partnering farmer is not with us makes things challenging. We are lacking that generation, the experience and the knowledge that Clayton and I desire and long for.
The puzzle will never be completed but we continue to move forward to make him proud of us. We work hard to make the farm sustainable and profitable. As we are making small improvements this fall, there is a sense of him with us as one of the last projects Clayton and he had was completing fence rows and here we are again finishing that project.
Each time Landon causes mischief or Nora says a funny riddle, we instantly say HE had a part in that. We miss and love you each day.
Pictured at top are three important men left in our lives. Spanning four generations these men have loved this farm and our missing generation.
Understandably sad. Many families suffer through those same agonies. Sadder still are those troubled families who choose not to get along even as they ALL inhabit this earth. There is a time and a season for each and every generation to take the reigns. Patience and respect for our elders who farmed before us is paramount.