Our first and only child reaches a milestone this week. She graduates high school! I spent a total of 15 years in higher education. To be honest with you, I frequently tell new high school graduates: “Congratulations on getting through the easiest part of life. Now buckle up!”
So, I may be thought slightly hypocritical by announcing her milestone.
Sidney Schau was born with down syndrome. For her, everything that comes easier for others is slightly more difficult for her. And yet, my wife and I may see her graduation as a greater achievement than she does.
Here’s why: We were in no way qualified to raise another human, let alone a child with special needs, and yet, we did it. Now we move on to the next chapter in our lives. For the record, we still have no idea what that looks like or what we are doing.
Whenever I have the opportunity to speak to groups of farmers or lenders, I spend some time visiting about our daughter. We let her fail at a lot of things in life: walking, riding a bike and such. We made a concerted effort to allow her to learn on her own by allowing her to fail (at least where her life wasn’t in danger). As a result, we now have an immensely independent (and sometimes stubborn) 18-year-old who this week graduates with her peers.
This path we walk together shapes the way I view the world.
As a commodity broker and analyst, several of my customers would rather I just make the decision for them. “What do you think I should do?” is a question I field on an almost daily basis. I don’t dislike the question. I get it. I often defer to others to help me make the best decision with a challenge I am facing. Yet, at the end of the day, I know I need to make the decision for myself. I frequently learn which is the best decision by making the wrong decision first.
All too often for many folks, one poor decision leads to “analysis paralysis” later. I can’t tell you how many times a customer calls, we discuss a plan, and the last words out of their mouth are: “Let me think about it.” I’m all for making well-informed decisions, but I joke that “let me think about it” is code for “I’m 99% sure I’m not going to do anything!”
Strike while the marketing plan is hot
Fast-forward a few weeks or months and the same customer calls with the ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’ comment. Don’t get me wrong, we are not perfect and will not always be 100% correct on the markets. But I know for a fact that when I stick my head in the sand I can go in only one direction. That direction is not forward.
I’ll say this as candidly as I possibly can: 18 years ago, when the doctors told us how our daughter had down syndrome, my inside thought was that the news was terrible. I can honestly tell you that diagnosis may have been the best thing to ever happen to me.
I have an appreciation for little things in life (that I fear I may have missed without that diagnosis). For most of our path through parenthood, my wife and I had no clue what we were doing. (Honestly, we still don’t). But we will continue to learn from our mistakes while we steadfastly allow our daughter to learn from hers.
To contact Tyler Schau, call 701-987-6009 or email tschau@agmarket.net. Call 844-4AG-MRKT to contact anyone on the AgMarket.Net® team.
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