Romancing the next generation of ranchers doesn’t mean that we can’t show them the entire spectrum of pleasantries on the ranch: good and bad. Afterall, most of us want authenticity in our romances, right? I know when I was dating, I tried to avoid the fake Cowboy Casanova’s like the plague. (Good thing MDH is the real deal. 🤣🤣🤣) ANYWAYS, it’s good for kids to see the downsides, too. But I think what it does mean is that we show them appropriate ways to behave and take action during those negative times.
For example, let’s say you can’t make the payment on the real estate loan. You could go drink a fifth of whiskey and let your children see you drown your sorrows. Or you could accept that you can’t make the payment and you will need to sell down or refinance, then make a strategic plan that cash flows for the rest of your ranching career. Resiliency is learned in adversity. The latter option teaches a great lesson, and thus is romancing the next generation.
When you are working cows and they won’t go down the alleyway into the chute, you could go into a rage blackout, spout every cussword in the book, and break three of your best sorting sticks over the backs of “those dumb broads”. Or, you could say, let’s take a break for a minute and make a game plan that will bring the stress level down for the animals and people. Then follow up by changing your design or taking some stockmanship courses. This is romancing the next generation. Imagine the valuable lesson they learn in watching you do the second option.
Maybe you are calving, and you are losing calves left and right for various reasons. You could be mad, crabby, and a real miserable SOB to everyone around you. Or, you could accept the sadness and frustration, pray that things will improve, and recognize that if you are giving it your all, it’s really all up to God. Letting your kids see the latter is romancing the next generation.
Romancing the next generation means teaching them appropriate and healthy ways to respond to the bad parts of ranching. It doesn’t mean turning every negative into a positive: sometimes negatives are just negative. But it means showing them that you accept the negative, you can’t change what has already happened or what is out of your circle of control, and you will make a plan to move forward doing the best you can with the circumstances you have. It means teaching them to take responsibility of what they can control and creating solutions rather than furthering the problem.
Comments