This weekend while home for a few days to perform some tasks at home that had to be done by me, I was thinking about “helping hands”. There are times in our lives we need a “helping hand”. Help moving a heavy object or a large object. I am helping my daughter’s family by driving my granddaughter to and from school, cleaning the house, caring for the dogs and watering the lawn. These tasks my daughter and son-in-law could do, but with the recent arrival of triplet boys, it is nice to have a person able to do those tasks for them so they can concentrate on the babies, more importantly for them to be able to get some sleep. I will be there to provide helping hands as long as needed.
My daughter and son-in-law are a very independent couple. When their first baby was born, they did not want any help at all. They needed to learn how to perform the daily tasks and take care of their daughter. They were excited about being parents, they leaned on each other to learn and adjust to having a child in their family. They did very well in adjusting and learning.
With the addition of triplets, my daughter and son-in-law realized, these new babies would require a lot more time and care. They are glad to receive some help.
Help comes in many forms. One of the greatest gifts they have received is money to assist with the cost of having triplets. Diapers and formula are expensive.
In their town, baby formula is still limited in how many a person can purchase. Months back, there was a shortage of baby formula, and family members came to the rescue. Family members requested the information on what type of formula they would use and purchased formula when found in their area stores, then shipped it to them. I my trip home for the weekend, we visited the store and purchased baby formula that I will take down with me.
While I am helping my daughter’s family, my husband is alone at the farm. He feeds the sheep and dogs, then goes to his job. One evening he was mowing with a push mower our driveway. Since I have not been there to mow once a week, the grass grew to be very tall. A neighbor saw my husband mowing, then returned with a riding mower to finish the job. A simple task, completed with much appreciated helping hand.
The helping hands really shows up in our marriage. I had not given much thought to how much we assist and take care of each other until recently. I take care of the farm, yard, house and meals. When I am gone, those tasks fall to my husband. It is a blessing to have a life partner who is willing and able to give a helping hand so I can help my daughter.
I have always viewed marriage like a team of horses working together in harness. In today’s technology age, seeing a team of horses work or even driving a team of horses is very rare. There is a special dynamic with a good team of horses. A person does not just put any two horses together to work and pull a wagon. Those two horses have to get along and not fight. But they also have to be willing to work together, pulling the same amount at all times in order for the task to be completed. They have to be patient when one accidently bumps or steps on the other. When they are working, being bumped by each other happens a lot. There are times the horses will lean and push against each other to gain leverage to get a heavy load moving or to stop the heavy load.
Currently, I am able to lean on my husband, trust that he is going to take care of my sheep. It is not an easy time for us with the sheep farm. The cost of hay has made things a challenge, but he has been there to feed, find hay to purchase, and help with the decisions on selling sheep. I have come home for the weekend to identify the lambs to be sold and the ones we are keeping.
It is good to be able to do things independently. When the time arrives, it is also good to put our pride aside, and take the helping hand we are being blessed with to get us through those challenging times.
I am thankful for those helping hands that have assisted my family and myself during this time.
amtolle
Me, Myself and I 