09/07/2026
Sometimes it works this way unfortunately.
Some of the hardest lessons we learn on a farm are the ones we never wanted to teach our children. For the last two days, my daughter has fought right alongside us to save this little calf. She helped feed him, cared for him, and watched us give everything we had to try to keep him alive.
But tonight, when we came out to feed and found that life had left his little body, she didn't cry amd she didn't ask why we couldn't save him. She understood. Perhaps a moment I was preparing her for. Sometimes, despite every effort, every bottle, every ounce of care and every prayer, an animal simply isn't meant for this world. And she understood that we had done everything we could.
That moment made me incredibly proud of her. Farming teaches children things that are hard to put into words. It teaches them compassion, responsibility, resilience, and that life and death are both part of the same cycle. It teaches them to love an animal deeply enough to fight for it, but also to accept when the fight is over. I wish she never had to learn this lesson. But if she's going to grow up on a farm, I'm grateful she's learning it with a heart full of compassion and an understanding that we don't always get to decide the outcome.
We did everything we could for this baby. Sometimes, that's what love looks like.
