Parents Matter

Last Sunday evening Jan and I went for a ride to check and see if we could find some dry fields for Monday planting. Suddenly Jan said, "I just saw some baby kittens in the road ditch". There were no buildings or yards in sight. There was no mother cat. I'm guessing they were dropped off and abandoned. We backed up and took the two starving, scared, kittens with us.

Today is Mother's Day. Mothers have a huge role in our country today raising our next generations. I'm so thankful for Jan who helped raise our six children to be who they are today. I'm also thankful for a daughter, Becky, and five daughter-in-laws, Suzanne, Stacy, Cassia, Emily, and Kristin, and the great mothers they have been in help raising their children, our grandchildren.

Since we were in the neighborhood we brought the homeless kittens to Becky and Brian's house where five kids immediately adopted them and gave those kittens more attention and love than they could have imagined.

Yesterday was my mother's anniversary. Today is Mother's Day. Tuesday is her birthday. I seldom ever got up in the morning as a kid when my mom wasn't already up working and fixing breakfast. My father taught me responsibility. My mother taught me to care about others. No matter what our country says today, parents matter. She continues to do well at Oskaloosa Care Center.

Monday was a big day in the field. Below I'm loading Alex with another 135 bags of soybean seed as he was planting a farm on the north edge of Ottumwa. BJ and Kurt both planted corn in the Peoria and Galesburg area.

We pick up our spray loads at Nutrien Crop Solutions. We call them hot loads. That means Nathan and Matt mix up the herbicides we purchased last winter with fertilizer and water, and load them on our semi tenders. Thanks guys.

Karl sprayed beans and I sprayed corn until we all got rained out late. This spray pass is the first of three trips across the field with spray. In the old days farmers would try and get everything on in one pass. Today we are using less herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizer per pass being more stewardly on the ground we use to help feed the world.

On Monday afternoon I took some time to spray the sweetcorn patch while the little people Jan was watching watched Grandpa.

The rest of last week was full of projects on many fronts. BJ had some cement poured. Karl had Rudy getting ready for cement. Kurt had Brad help him build a motorcycle track for his boys. Jim and I added air lines in our shop across the road. The contractors at Linda's families place are pouring a new driveway. Thanks for the picture Linda.

Friday evening Jan and I went to the Tulip Time Parade in Pella. We watched grandkids march in the band.

Gideon is part of a shooting team at William Penn University. This past spring his team won a national championship. It's only William Penn's second national title ever. Below he is standing with his parents, BJ and Cassia, and his youngest sister Natalie. Gideon and his team have been invited to visit our Governor's office and be congratulated by Governor Kim this coming week.

Speaking of Governor Kim, her team kicked off their re-election campaign yesterday. She is where I got my idea for the title for our visit this morning. She is a mother and grandmother, and has a daughter that is a teacher. And she has been a strong advocate for parents. As we talked last week so many schools are now openly encouraging children to second guess their identity. All Governor Kim's posters said "Parents Matter". I thanked her for inviting Penn's shooting team to the Capital, and told her my grandson was the short one. 😊

Last evening my father's cousin Pat got her extended family together for a reunion at the cabin. Pat is married to Don. She has five sisters. I'm going to try and remember, Gert, Rosie, Betty, Sharon, and Darlene. They had a brother Roger who was killed in Germany in the service. Roger was my father's cousin and best friend. I was named after him, Steven Roger. They had a great turnout with over 80 folks getting together.

Last week we talked about two of nine brothers coming to raise their families in Iowa. My grandfather was Bill, the oldest. He and his wife Christina are seated in the lower left of the picture. My father Harry was one of ten children. Pat's father was John, the youngest. He and his wife Cornelia are standing in the upper right. Pat is one of seven children. The other seven brothers and their wives raised their families in Illinois and Indiana. They were all immigrants from Holland. What a generational legacy. Parents matter.

Mother's Day isn't a happy day for everyone. Some of you have lost parents, spouses, or children. Some of you wish you could have been a parent. It can get lonely when many see sunshine while a few see clouds.

 

Our culture is trying to dismantle parenting and the family base. If we lose our family structure and parents, we lose our country.

The storyline in our visit this morning is parents matter more than ever. The picture of those old timers. Tulip Time and remembering where those old times came from and why they came to America. Electing folks in government who value family and parenting. Raising our children to be assets in society and God's kingdom. And now watching our kids raise their kids. And yes, as Randy and I visited last evening, our grandparents and parents were not perfect. We are not perfect and we are not raising perfect kids. That's why it's so important ask God for help and direction. Thanks for the picture.

So husbands and fathers, we are not off the hook just because it's Mother's Day. How do we best honor the gals in our lives? And what can we do that matters for our children? We start by cherishing and loving our children's mother. We can show and tell our children we love them. We will be in our own old-timer picture someday. And we can take the time to be a Dad. Blessings folks. And thanks for the friendships.