Wyatt's Little Tractor
Today, my son, Wyatt is 14 years old!
Wyatt is a special needs kid. He has multiple learning disabilities and is on the spectrum. He can only read and write at a 2nd grade level. He tries very hard, but still has a difficult time understanding and fitting into this world. He is however, the sweetest kid you'll ever meet!
Wyatt had brain surgery in 2017 where his skull was removed for 5 weeks. He has been through lots of testing and struggles in life. He has had 4 surgeries, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and audio therapy, and more...
Wyatt has always had a unique relationship with his Grandpa Frick (owner of Frick Sales).... when he was little he'd call him 'junk grandpa'! His favorite place in the whole world was to go to Grandpa Fricks. He'd wander through the junk yard and would find treasures that he'd talk about to anyone who'd listen.... his favorite was his Grandpa's little B6000 Kubota.
My dad had purchased/traded it off of a guy that had torn it apart and was planning on parting it out by selling parts on eBay. For a few years it sat in peices in dads junk yard.... Wyatt loved it even when it was in peices! After dad got it put together and running, Wyatt would go out and find it everytime we went to dads... he'd be out sitting on the little kubota.
Wyatt would talk non stop of how someday he was gonna buy Grandpa's kubota and fix it up. That someday he'd give it to his grandkids.
Then last fall, my dad got the news he had brain cancer and didn't have much time left to live. Wyatt was so worried that the kubota would be sold at an auction or be given to one of his uncles.... thats pretty much all he's talked about for the last 5 months.
Dad told me back in September that he knew how much the kubota ment to Wyatt and that he knew Wyatt would always struggle living a normal life with his disabilities and he wanted Wyatt to have his little Kubota. But, he didn't want anyone to tell Wyatt till after he was gone....
Every week (sometimes multiple times a week) when I went to take care of dad, Wyatt would go with me. He'd sit by his Grandpa's hospital bed sometimes talking about tractors or chainsaws, and sometimes just sitting together with silence between them. But everytime we were there, he would spend some time out in the barn sitting on the kubota, dreaming. And every night on the hour drive home, he'd tell me all about it and how he was going to fix it up....
The last conversation Wyatt had with his Grandpa before he died, was about starting the little kubota, and letting the glow plug warm up.... Dad wanted to make sure Wyatt knew how to operate it, because he couldn't go out to show him.
Last month, his Grandpa, who understood him more than anyone, past away from brain cancer.
Dad did what he said he'd do and left his little B6000 Kubota tractor to Wyatt in his will.
Wyatt misses his Grandpa so much, but he is so excited to have his Grandpa's tractor. He kept saying over and over that he was afraid he'd wake up the next morning and it wouldn't be true.... he has spent every minute that he's not in school out with his tractor. He's even hooked his trailer to it to give his sister rides.
He wants to restore it/fix it up and keep it to always remember his Grandpa by....
The problem is.... the tractor is 47 years old. It was only in production for 3-4 yrs, parts are hard to find and if you do find them, they are very expensive.
Wyatt will never be able to graduate school with a diploma or hold a 'normal' job to be able to save up to buy or to afford to restore his Grandpa's little Kubota tractor.
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