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Mid MO | I would find a way to include your son and have him work alongside of You. I would also try to help him to create his own enterprise (pumpkins, sweetcorn, etc). Lets him work a little ground, handle the books, and make some money. Hopefully he builds it each year, with your encouragement.
My Dad is a hellova man, but he won't tell us what his plans are. (77, stage 4 prostate cancer, some memory problems.) I've got one brother who was favored all along and us other two are "spares". Favored brother wants it all, because we'll, he's the best!!! Baby brother got fed up, went into banking, does well, and lives in California. Me, I tried for years, but now live 10 miles away on my own place. It's far enough to avoid "10 minute jobs" that blow half a day and moving tractors/machinery that far is a hassle. Close enough if they need me, I show up. Dad still drops by and we get along fine but being raised as second rate gets hard to stomach as you mature and get a few successes that show you might actually have a little ability. You look at your own kid and think, how could they do me that way???
A person gets to the point where they care but can put some emotional distance between themselves and the crazy blindspots their folks have. What will be, will be. Dad has no tolerance for when things don't go as planned, cattle, machinery, trucks. He just goes off the deep end and gets dramatic and cusses and looks on the worst side of things. Then he repeats it over and over and really doesn't try to fix the situation.... or beats it with a hammer. He's mad he can't work like a 30 yo, he's mad at his truck, he's mad that he doesnt sleep well, you name it. If my Dad gets kooky and wreckless with money, or mean due to memory loss, or kills himself in a farm accident or whatever drama is in store...... I will be sad and grieve and help my mother navigate it the best she can. It isn't up to me, it never was, they didn't think I could do it. They are wrong, I'll just do it on my own. As for my son, I work every day to give him the option to come home, should that be his calling. I want my business to be successful enough to include him when the time is right. (He's 7.) He wants goats as a 4-H project, I'm not real excited about it but we're going to give it our best effort and see where it leads!
I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. | |
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“Running the business” not taking over.
