Good Morning From the Farm

This week I had a rare few days with nothing pressing on my schedule and decided on a whim to go back to my hometown and see if I could begin to piece together stories of our family history.  

I had already done the research some years ago but felt there were stories that I was missing that would put flesh on bones and make the names in my family history seem more real.  And well, being on the farm is always good for the soul. 

I think these stories are worth preserving for my own generation and for those generations that follow. They are the stories that form us and make us who we are.  Sure, there is more to it than that, but I truly believe that an awful lot gets passed down, intentionally or not.

It was fun sitting and listening to my mom and her sisters talk and reminisce about their childhood.  I heard funny stories about how when my uncle did something he wasn't supposed to and got caught, he lied and said that my aunt (his sister) did it.  When she was in trouble he was outside looking at her through the window and taunting her with "nah, nah, nah, nah".  She was so angry that she grabbed the BB gun and shot him!  Then she was in BIG trouble.  Funny thing is, of all my aunts, she is the one I would least expect that from!   

Mom and two of her sisters at lunch

I heard the familiar stories of how my grandparents were dirt poor but were hard workers and  how that hard work (and a little luck) paid off.  My grandfather started out selling tomatoes to the cannery in town and ended up with over 500 acres of farm land that also contained oil and coal.

The thing that stood out those, is not the luck, sure that is a part of it, but I don't believe for one second that the luck would have happened if not for the hard work.  

I heard stories of my grandmother working out in the fields while pregnant, picking corn and  husking it until her hands bled.  They had a hard life and earned every penny they ever made.  They were the kind of people who were not soft, but were solid, the kind of people that built this country and all that makes it great.  Were they perfect? Not by any stretch of the imagination.  But they were honest, decent, hardworking people.  I'm proud to have those kind of people in my heritage.

In a world that talks about privilege and seeks assistance for everything (yeah, I said that), its a good reminder that we are all far more privileged than we can imagine to live in a such a country where hard work will pay off - no matter who you are. It may not pay off quickly and it may not pay off in the way we think it should, but it will pay off.