the farmer's gift

I took the kids over to a park today to play. When we got there, the boys were delighted to see a large tractor out mowing the field next to the park. They are in love with tractors. They watched for a while and then set to work on playing. I pushed them on the swings, running back and forth between Caia in her baby swing and the boys on the regular swings. (They haven't quite mastered the art of pumping their legs yet.) They climbed on the equipment and raced down the slides. And, after I had spread out a blanket in the grass for Caia to sit on, they asked me to chase them around. In truth, I just wanted to pull out my book and sit down for a few minutes. But I hoisted myself up and we ran around in the grass. At one point, while I was sitting in the grass being tackled, I looked up to see the man who had been driving the tractor approaching us. He looked every bit the farmer. Dark, tan skin creased by weather and age. A John Deere hat, t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and dark jeans. I thought that he was maybe stopping for a drink but then he walked right over and asked me if I was "babysitter or mom?" I told him that I was Mom and he took a step back and said, "Wow! I'm just amazed that you are playing with your kids. Where do you find the energy? That's just fantastic." I assured him that it wasn't this way everyday. He told me that he rarely sees moms playing with their children and that he had been watching us as he mowed the grass and wanted to come and tell me that I'm doing a great job. He then walked back to his tractor and finished his work.
As I sat there I was thinking that if he only knew that I really wanted to read a book, he wouldn't have come over. Or that he simply caught me on a good day. But then I decided to simply take it at face value and accept the gift of his words. He went out of his way to come over to me and encourage me. And he didn't know me. It wasn't a relative or good friend telling me that I'm doing a great job and helping me to push on. This was a stranger who saw value in me rolling around in the grass with my kids. I know a gift when I see one and that was a gift.