I am more and more fascinated with living on a farm. There is SO much work to do. And it never ends. I knew a few years ago that it was going to take tons of work to run a place like this. I don't think I knew how constant the work was going to be. Just the daily upkeep can be daunting! And I wondered why, as I am getting older, that I would want to add more work to my life.
Most men who arrive at my age have settled into their favorite chair, ritually, and developed a long term relationship with a professional sports team. Others bury themselves in work and only have relationship with family members at dinner time. And some are just plain absent.
I bought into the idea of this farm thing because my children wanted to move from the city to a farm. They wanted animals, woods, pastures, open spaces to play, enjoy, and learn from. They wanted to be INVOLVED with nature. Not just watch it on television. And now it is great to see them involved. Interacting with the world God has created. Finding joy in just BEING outside, soaking up the beauty in the simplest things; Like the moonlight on a summer night.
During our trip to pick up the canoe, Macy and I were having one of our "future" talks again. The kind of talk that speculates what the future may look like for our family. It is great to hear young teenagers talk about growing up, getting married, staying close to home, and wanting their children to be friends with their sibling's children. Her vision consisted of her and her siblings owning a few of the home that are close here to the farm. Them and their children keeping animals here, and always being part of "grandpa's" farm. The children floating from aunt/uncle/cousin houses staying with each other, coming down to the farm to help grandpa out with chores, and spending our lives working together to create a wonderful place for all of them to enjoy, learn from, and be connected to.
I LOVE hearing vision like that. Especially from my own children! Vision like that is full of care. Full of what God intended for families to think and believe.
What are the chances that will happen? Probably slim to none. I'm not a doomsday believer, but chances are they will all get on with their lives, scatter themselves across the country, and come to visit me once in awhile here at the farm. That's OK. That's part of life. Part of becoming independent. And my grandpa days are not here for a little while longer. We still have some time to mill things over. :)
So, all that to say that I am doing it for them. I am creating more work now for myself so that potentially they will have a place for their children to be part of. And along the way, I REALLY ENJOY living here and doing the work. It beats watching TV in my book.
And on a side note, we now have 12 gallons of cherries in the freezer for this winter when fruit runs scarce. I just washed and froze them pits and all!
