My 3 year old feeds and lets the the dog out every morning, wakes up his little sister and "helps" me make coffee. But those aren't really "chores" anymore, he gets mad at me if I do them without him.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

I grew up on a very big farm in the Midwest.

During the school year:

Up at 5:30, feed the cattle by 6, back in the house by 7. Eat breakfast and on the bus by 7:30.

Home about 3. Do homework, out to feed the cattle at 6. Back in the house at 7. Eat supper (not dinner, that's at noon), in bed by 8:30

On Saturday's we cut the grass on the 3 houses on the farm - took about 6 hours, as well as fed the cattle at each end of the day.

On Sunday's the "men" would go in town and drink coffee until about 10, then go home and do odds and ends, but for the most part I was only involved if I wanted to be, or I was absolutely needed

During planting and harvesting seasons, and most of the summer, depending on our age, we were out in the fields for about 14 hours a day, give or take, either driving a tractor, hauling wagons, or simply as a go-fer. There was also fence mending, barns to clean, hay and straw to bale, and all the other "once in a while" stuff that had to be done. Plus the farmers all shared their kids with each other, so I would not just bale our farm, but 3 other farms as well, and their kids helped us.

All of my friends had the same routine. We had no idea a world existed outside of ours. I figured it out when I got a partial free ride to college and no one in my family understood why I was even considering it. That made me realize I could either do this the rest of my life or walk away completely - there wouldn't be an in between.

I joined the Navy. I got married to a "city girl" as my mother called her. I went to college and have a Master's degree. I went home off and on over the years, and eventually inherited the farm with my brother and sister, but I never went back to that life and I kept my family mostly isolated from it as well.

Once in a while I go home for an event or a problem, and I am very much an outsider, both in the way I act and dress, and my attitude towards things. Some of it I laugh off and some of it give them the full Long Island go fuck yourself attitude.

BTW, the farm is now mostly automated. The system feeds the cattle on a schedule. We no longer bale much, its all in big rolls that sit in the fields. Planting and harvesting haven't changed much, but the equipment is big and more efficient and can be run with fewer people and it takes much less time.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"