Sunday, August 14, 2011

Once a Farm Girl Always a Farm Girl


When I was little, I remember baking in the sun while crawling down rows of vegetables and weeding for hours. I remember dipping recently butchered chickens in boiling water so I could pluck their feathers. I remember standing over bubbling pressure cookers making sure the temperature gage stayed just right. I remember thinking what a lot of wasted time.

Those were hot and miserable days. I couldn't wait to grab my pole and a can of worms and go fishing in the pond or at Flat Creek. I just didn't get why my Mom thought it important to put up food for the winter. I mean, it was easier to just go to the store and buy it. We canned everything; from watermelon rinds to turkey neck soup. At the end of the growing season, our basement was nothing but shelves of packed jars.

Now that I’m a Mom, my kids ask the question I never did. “If you can buy all this at the store, why do we waste so much time canning?”

I now know the answer. There is nothing more rewarding that opening up a jar rather than a can. There is nothing more rewarding than tasting freshness instead of tin. There is nothing more rewarding than a job well done. There is nothing more rewarding than a family working together. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing you can do it! And this one touches home, for it takes me back as a child; there is nothing more rewarding than knowing through the long winter months, you are not going to go hungry. Mom has just secured your life. Food is in abundance.



6 comments:

  1. Aww, how wonderful. The line "Mom has just secured your life. Food is in abundance" really moves me. There is nothing more wonderful than knowing you are taking the best care possible of your children. I know neither of us ever feels like we're the best mothers (that's part of being modest), but when I'm feeling down about myself as a mom, remembering times I've gone the extra mile to put my babies first always makes me feel more worthy of being their mother. You rock!!!

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  2. Thanks Jenn! As long as we are trying our best at being a mother we are doing a good job. When Mike & I were married, my Mom told me, "Take my good but don't you dare repeat my bad. You be a better mother than me." I think my Mom is a pretty amazing person & though I fear I won't reach her greatness, I'm going to keep trying. By the way...You are a pretty gosh darn amazing mother, Jenn! :)

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  3. Carrie,
    I'm a farm girl once removed. Mom and Dad had moved to town by the time I came along, but your blog reminded me of days when we helped my aunt and uncle harvest their garden. We sat around wash tubs full of beans or peas, seeing which cousin could shell the most. I didn't know I was working! Thanks for the memories.
    Linda b.
    www.LifeAfterCaregiving.WordPress.com

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  4. Thanks Linda! Isn't it amazing how working together as a family can be so much fun & it makes the best memories too. You are right, most times you don't even know you're working! :)

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  5. Awwww! You found my little friend. He sets better on the green beans than you would, my love. ;)

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