Just over a year ago, this was our family, separated by nearly 4,000 km and celebrating Easter together over Skype. I am so glad that we are closer, and I try to remind myself every time I drive 25 minutes from our farm to Mom and Dad's how excited I used to get to come home. Because it didn't happen very often, and I often went nearly a year without seeing my Mom and Dad in person.
That being said, it's not always sunshine and rainbows and happy faces. Dealing with family is hard, running a business together often frustrating enough to make one want to quit. But, the rewarding part with family is that you have no choice but to work it out and move forward. You're stuck together whether you like it or not, and there's something special in that. Friends will come and go, family sticks together no matter what.
Mom and I love running the business together! We have a great time and support each others' decisions and push each other to do better. When I moved away 12 years ago to attend University, I always said I didn't want to do what Mom does, and that was to manage every aspect of the business from planning to planting to marketing herself. I knew we made a great team, but I never dreamed I'd be back to work with her again. I feel like with her skills and my skills we are a fantastic team!
Mom is also an inspiration to me, because I've watched her build a business around something she is passionate about and all the good that has come from it! She inspired me to follow my passion and we're lucky that we can both do what we love and work together.
My Dad and I are a lot alike, which causes conflict of course. Getting along isn't something that comes naturally to us and so we have to work at it. Really hard sometimes! But things that are worth working for end up being so much more valuable in the end. We work to communicate effectively with each other and to reach common understanding most of the time, but it gets a little bit easier all the time. My Dad is a smart businessman and always has a valuable perspective which is usually very different from my own. He challenges me and as an adult I'm learning to challenge him back. We are very similar but think very differently and so working to reach understanding helps not only our relationship, but any tough relationship. The fact is you can't get very far in life by avoiding conflict or not dealing with tough situations, so having to face this constantly with Dad is the greatest lesson of all.
I love my Mom and Dad, and I'm so glad to be back in Manitoba where I can see them all the time and have them as part of my life.
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