Sounds Like a Plan to Me
He calls me Ma and asks if it’s okay if he and his brother live on the land adjacent to us when they grow up.
“How about this?” he says with wide eyes and upturned hands. “How about I grow apple trees and we have pigs and we bring you apples and lard from the pigs? And then you make us pie for dinner?”
“Lord willing,” I say. After that all I can think is sounds like a plan to me – the pie, the apples, the living right next door. Most especially the living right next door.
He says “Yes ma’am!” with a nod of the head as he lets go of my hand and runs ahead to open the garden gate, his garden gate.
And then he shows us all – the whole family – his garden. Annabelle is present with little bear tucked under her arm. Elijah is right behind him waiting to show us his garden. Daddy carries baby Ruthie which gives me free hands and this little man has captured one and held on tight. Also, my heart.
He shows us the fence he put up and the gate he built. He shows us his fava beans and garlic that he planted in the fall. Still green, still alive despite the freezing temperatures. We taste them because you can eat most bean leaves – something I only recently learned – and they taste like the essence of a spring pea.
He tells us about his water buckets and the pond he dug with his little man shovel and how frequently he waters his garden. He shares with me his remedy for the fire ants that can wreak havoc and I make a mental note to ask him again when summer hits and they’re a nuisance in the other gardens.
I think about what it was like to be his age – all of six – and how I didn’t know that garlic was anything but a plastic-packaged powder that you tossed into spaghetti sauce. I believed that with all of my heart until I was a legal adult. This little man is growing it.
Abram has offered his fava bean leaves up for an ingredient in tonight’s coleslaw. Man am I grateful for the blessing of land and space and dirt for these little ones.
I often struggle with balancing the different aspects of the children’s education but maybe it’s simple. Maybe land and dirt and seeds could be added the list of school supplies.
Sounds like a plan to me.
What a lovely job you are doing with them.
Loved this. It so reminds me of my daughter a few years ago (she’s now 11) telling her dad and I that when she opens her restaurant that we will live with her above the restaurant. That and about half a dozen of her favorite people will join us too! And brother will live across a big yard with his family so we can all be together. Oh–and one more thing–I will homeschool her children as she will be in the restaurant cooking food for us to eat. Maybe we can get fresh veggies from your sons and their plots for that restaurant. (0:
So beautiful! Our oldest son is 8, and he frequently shares his future farm dreams with us, which – oh joy! – involves buying the neighboring fields and setting up shop right next to Dad and Mom. He wants to be a veterinarian one-day, and claims that he’ll take care of all of our animals, so long as I keep him supplied with garden produce and baked goods. Although purchasing the land is a dream that may or may not come to pass, I love where his heart is. Thank you for sharing your stories with us!
I love this young boy’s spirit, dreams, faith, and especially, his GATE!
I just plain adored this post.
What a treasure of a life you are giving your children , which is beyond price. I was much moved by this post, and would give you a hug if I could to say “Well done, and keep on going on, because you and your husband are doing a tremendous job of raising your family in the right way.” I know that it is sometimes tough on you, and I know that sometimes you get a bit wobbly. Vx
This was beautiful and so touching. It really brought back memories of the tender years of my own children. I think you’re so right, land and space to raise your kids on truly are a blessing, especially when you consider the crowded living conditions of so many in this world. Thanks for this precious post!
Just beautiful. I found your blog through Reformation acres. Wonderful reminder to praise God for what we have been given! God bless you…
My kids talk about moving next door. Oh I hope so.
We moved East (nova scotia) with our family four years ago in the hopes of living off the land, raising our children in dirt and forests and cold Atlantic water. Now we are buried in snow during one of the worst winters we’ve seen here yet, overwhelmed by barn chores and a dwindling wood supply. Texas sounds great right about now 🙂 My husband is a carpenter and I sometimes wish we had just bought land and built a little place like you are doing. Instead we have a 150 year old farm house that we hoped to breath new life into. I mean, it was just sitting here, someone outta love it, right? But I trudge around in blur of morning sickness with our 5th baby (yay!), feeling the vastness of this old drafty house and all this requires of us and I hope and pray that we have actually done what God wanted of us. Spring seems so far off. All that to say, thank you for your words and your honesty and your bits and pieces that keep me thankful for the abundance of love and food and joy that still surrounds me in this hard cold winter.
What a lovely young man you are raising. My fondest memories are the little farms my dad had when I was growing up. We had goats, chickens, horses, cows, lambs, ducks, and four of us kids tromping around.