Paul Hoover is a 12-year-old Mennonite “man.” The oldest son in a family of twelve, he does the work of an adult with an attitude of a boy.
“I work a bit, but it is pretty good fun,” he said with a heavy Pennsylvania Dutch accent.
His day at the family’s dairy farm begins at 5:45 a.m. when he rises to milk the cows. After the two-hour task, he heads to school. School ends at three in the afternoon, and Hoover returns home for additional farm chores and the evening milking. Work ends by 7:30 or 8 p.m.
Bedtime is at 8:30, ending the day’s routine. Throughout Hoover’s task-filled day, he savors life.
His bike ride to school. The warmth of the barn. A game of tag. Wide-eyed descriptions of last night’s dream. Dreams of next winter’s snow. He has adult responsibilities and a childlike optimism.
Hoover is in his eighth and final year of formal education.
“Someday maybe I will have my own farm,” Hoover said, ‘”but it’s no big hurry.”
For now he can just be a boy.