When I gave birth to our first son, I was so excited – a BOY! (we opted for the surprise at birth route). With the addition of our second son, our family is complete. They are of an age where we can really start to chase their passions and expose them to more things. The age where no diaper bag is needed, no racing the clock to protect nap time and bedtime can be a little more lax, it’s a fun age! Mornings are greeted with a ready – set – go approach and that we do!
My sons love dirt. They love things that move. Things that grow. Things that require an adventure. We drive everywhere, like, across the country everywhere. We limit screen time dramatically to encourage physical exploration, but on road trips, that changes a little. After all, Nebraska is a LONG boring state. On one of our many trips west, we borrowed from the library a John Deere DVD and learned more than you could ever imagine about these iconic tractors and farm tools. Did you know there is a theme song too? As we traveled the high planes of our country, we could see many of the farm tools in the field we passed.
Toward the end of one of the disks (yes, there are many disks in the series…) a certain type of tractor was introduced as well as a farmer who own one of the 100 ever made. A John Deere 8020 Diesel. It is enormous. Well, it turns out that this tractor and his farmer live in Michigan; and through the power of the internet and a private Facebook tractor group, I tracked him down and he welcomed us to his farm. There are some amazing people in the world; my boys were so enamored with this experience.
We left a day early, and camped nearby to enjoy the cool fall weather and start to strengthen their camping skills. We also went to explore the sand dunes on Lake Michigan.
These are the photos that tell our story. The sun was bright. The air was Michigan fall crisp. There were cows mooing in the background and my boys asking a true farmer about how things work. The smiles on both generations were amazing.
Bottom line – chase your child’s passions. It will become your passion to find ways to celebrate their loves and interests. Maybe your own interests will blend too – my photography helps to tell our story and capture these moments. Our love for the outdoors naturally happens while we explore. Maybe yours is scrapbooking – creating something special from your own adventures. Maybe yours is cooking – creating a meal that celebrates the interests and time of the child. Anything is possible.
Go ahead, chase that tractor – you will learn more than you could ever imagine.
