Lessons from the OLD homestead

This little farm isn't the first one I've lived on. I grew up on little homestead with my parents, a bunch of foster kids, and an array of animals.

It was the best childhood I could've ever imagined. Not that I always loved every aspect. For awhile I wished we lived on a concrete street like my friends at school did, so that my shoes weren't always muddy, and I had a few years of hating chickens because I hated the smell and sliminess of butchering them. I can't remember ever complaining about having something to eat for dinner though. But in spite of those things, it was an amazing way to grow up and definitely played a big part in wanting to get my own kids out where they can have some of the same experiences. This weekend we went back to the old farm to spend a little time because it may be selling soon and we wanted to revisit one more time. Here are a few warnings about this post: it's going to be very picture-heavy, it may get a little long, and it's not always pretty. The farm has been in my (often poor) family for three generations, it's definitely got that "lived-in look" to say the least!).

10 lessons from the Old Homestead

1. There's something about coming in the road to home that can take the weight of the world off your shoulders. The knowledge that there are people at end of that road that will always be happy to see you and ready to make you a cup of tea is a very comforting thing.

2. That a swing outside is a perfect place for a baby to nap, 

and a perfect place for child to spend countless hours, 

and when you get a little older and need a place just to sit and think and try to figure out life...

...you just need a bigger swing.

3. That a marriage that started with a 2 month honeymoon spent in the freezing cold mountains, in the snow, in this truck topper can last 50 years.

4. That sneaking in at 3 AM doesn't work well when your parents have hung a multitude of bells on the door.

5. That the saying that "firewood warms you twice" is not true. It warms you at least four times. When you cut it, split it, haul it, and burn it. 

6. That bats will take care of a mosquito problem, chemical free!

7. That good, cold well water tastes amazing. And it won't kill you to drink out of the same old Enamel Ware cup as all your other family members. The one that hangs out by the hydrant on a fence post all year round. That has probably never been washed.

8. That a barn is a multipurpose building. It's where you learn to milk a cow, saddle a horse, catch a chicken and raise some more, build pretty much anything, and sometimes just hide from the world.

9. That time goes by faster than you think, and you are always changing and growing in one way or another.

10. And someday, muddy shoes might just make you happy.

This post is linked to theprairiehomestead.com   

http://www.backyardfarmingconnection.com/   

http://homegrownonthehill.blogspot.com/ 

http://katherinescorner.com/