Her First Job

  One of my daughters got a job yesterday. This was not planned and she did not apply for it. It was completely out of the blue. There is a farm at the end of our road and they milk three hundred cows. There are many more cows at the farm but they milk the three hundred. The farmer had an emergency where he lost some staff unexpectedly and needed help. My husband grew up on a dairy farm and had previously offered help if the farmer was ever in a bind. Well, yesterday he was in a bind. Three hundred cows CANNOT milk themselves. So he called on my husband and it turned out my husband didn't feel like he could give all the support this farmer needed consistently. However my daughter felt completely confident that she could milk three hundred cows with zero experience. My husband took her to the barn for an introduction ~there was  no time for a resume or anything else ~ she wore gum boots and coveralls. She ended up doing a double shift today. She had someone training her through these shifts :)

 She was shocked by the smell, she was peed on, and her arms were aching by the time she was done. She also had to be up by 4:30 in the morning. This is her first 'real' job and what an amazing first job to have. Farming is in her DNA ~ especially Dairy farming. 

The system here at this farm is that the cows are milked by machines but you have to usher the cows in, you have to clean them up, put the machines on them, and there is many steps around this process.

This is what struck me though ~ 

I have six children and they are all so different! My oldest daughter would also have jumped at the chance to milk cows and would not have felt any anxiety that she could not manage it. In fact, she could milk fifty cows when she was eight years old start to finish. My son would never dream of having the confidence to milk cows. He would be completely overcome with anxiety and it would take so much coaching to help him through the process. They have grown up with the same parents but each have gone through different realities of life in their brains and processed and internalized their perception of the world. 

We are all unique individuals who process circumstances uniquely. Our personalities are our own. Our filters of the world are different.

One person might make a mistake and agonize over it for days and another person might feel relief they only made that one mistake.

I am happy for my daughter at her confidence levels, and her wanting to go out into the world and try new things. I feel hope for my son that as he gets older he will feel more capable, that he can handle what the world throws at him, and he can walk in more confidence.

I myself have been a mix through the years. I don't really know how I started out my life, I think I was very chatty and learned certain things easily. I think I was shy sometimes but often I was outgoing and loved attention. However as time has gone on I have become more and more introverted and have wished for supportive kind connection. I have seen how easily it is to be used and discarded and I have become guarded and tired.

I love seeing the world through my teenage daughter's eyes. It is refreshing and beautiful. There is so much to experience and to savour. Oh may the world be kind to her. May she walk in protection and goodness. 

This is now my third child to go out and start earning their way in the world. My oldest daughter started her first job at a garden centre when she was about fifteen, and it taught her so much. Her boss was intense and demanded perfection. My second child has worked for his dad since he was thirteen and that has been a blessing for him. He has learned many skills. Now my third child is starting this journey! She has many hopes to travel.

Life flies by ~ it is precious and fragile and beautiful

xo

Tansy