Growing up, you always heard someone yell if you left the front door open. Were you raised in a barn? They said that like it was an insult. Apparently, it’s acceptable to leave the front door open if you were raised in a barn. Bugs, no air-conditioning. Those kinds of things are okay if it’s a barn, but certainly not a house.
Actually, some children are raised in a barn. Some of us grew up playing with tractors and trucks. The lucky ones still do. We’re also okay with bugs, the heat, and other things. Of course, we don’t want them inside of our home.
It’s not an insult to accuse someone of being raised in a barn. Especially if it happens to be a Sherman barndo.
Let’s set the record straight for a moment.
An old-fashioned barn with a hay-covered floor isn’t the same as a barndo. An old country barn is likely made out of wood, has a roof that leaks, and smells like, well, you already know what those smell like.
At Sherman, we offer a very different type of barn. It’s why we refer to them as barndos. They’re like condos, but not as fancy, but they can be if you want. They’re steel buildings that can be customized to meet your needs. You can absolutely use them as barns so that you have a place for your livestock, your agricultural equipment, and everything else that you can think of. You can also use them as your home, a garage, a man cave, or anything else that you want.
Thanks to us, children are raised in barns.
It has been said, “You will never convince me that there is a better place to teach your children about life than a barn.”
Life is Good…
We have a saying around Sherman: Life is good when the barn is where your best memories are made. It’s because it’s home, and you get to spend your days living outdoors and around nature.
You will never convince me that there is a better place to teach your children about life, than a barn.
Particularly when you’re around a Sherman barndo, you’re around a well-built barn that is capable of withstanding the elements. It means that you’ll never have to worry about climbing up on the roof to fix a shingle before the next storm. You’ll also never have to convince your buddies to hold a sheet of wood in place while you nail it in place over a hole. Our barns are more durable.
Oh, the Dairy Air
If you were raised around cows, you know where I’m going with this. For those who weren’t, allow me to continue my joke.
What is the worst part of milking a cow?
The smell of the dairy air.
What did the mother cow say to the baby cow? “It’s pasture bed time.”
These are experiences that we have been able to have because of living in or near a barn. We know all sorts of other things that “city folk” don’t know about, too. We know how to hold an utter, we know how to find out how many yolks are in an egg without cracking it, and we know what poison ivy looks like without having to pull out our phone.
It’s all things we probably take for granted. However, we have these experiences that have helped to shape who we are and how we navigate our way through life.
I wouldn’t trade my country life for one in the city for anything.
I happen to like the smell of dairy air. After being away from the country too long, the first thing I do once I’m back in Sherman Country is drive past all of the dairy farms with the windows down. My kids don’t love when I do it, but I keep telling them how lucky they are. Maybe, one day, they’ll believe me.
Being a Good Parent
“Sometimes being a good parent means hiding in the pantry and eating all of the fudgsicles over the course of a day so the kids don’t have to.” – Kelly Oxford
Being a good parent means making sure that your kids get what they need. For the record, fudgsicles are a want, not a need.
What kids do actually need is a place to run around and be with other kids. Socialization is essential, and so is the Vitamin D that they get from being outdoors.
When you’re in Sherman Country, you get the benefit of having so much outdoor space. They get to learn how to fly fish before they can recite their ABCs. They get to go on a hunting trip before they make it to the first grade.
These are life experiences that are going to mold them into self-sufficient adults. They will have amazing stories as well as skills that will serve them well.
While you may not be able to give them a fudgsicle when they get off the bus after a long day of school, you can give them so much more. You can give them life in a barndo. That’s worth so much more. Plus, they don’t need all of that sugar, anyway.
Raise Your Kids Right
We know we’ve painted quite the picture of country life. There’s a lot to fall in love with inside of Sherman Country. Why live in the city, stifled between neighbors, when there’s an entire country to enjoy?
Fishing, hunting, riding around on tractors – that’s where life happens. It’s where you get to learn more about you, your surroundings, and the people you spend time with. It’s quality time, too, because things are a bit slower in the country.
“Based on the amount of laundry, I’m going to assume there are people living here that I’ve never seen.” – unknown
That doesn’t mean you should teach your kids to keep the front door open. Just because they were raised in a barn doesn’t mean that you don’t still have electric bills.
Our barns have doors. And because the entire process is customizable, you can even decide what kind of door they get – for the front and the back. Heck, if you want a side door that you have to teach your kids to close, too, we’re happy to accommodate.
We were raised in barns. Our kids were raised in barns, too. Everyone turned out just fine. Now, it’s your turn to raise your kids in barndos. When you’re ready to talk about the details of getting your very own Sherman Barndo or garage for the fam, give us a call.
