Real Life on the Farm:

Everybody always loves the pictures and stories of life on the farm. The newness of spring. The excitement of fall. Anne of Green Gables got it right when she said, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Spring and fall are magical, aren’t they? Spring reminds us of fresh starts and growth. Fall reminds us of how beautiful change and release can really be. Farming can provide the perfect imagery for this. It evokes a sense of nostalgia. So often farming seems magical to watch generations of families put their blood, sweat, and tears into the soil and invest for future generations. It seems so sweet to watch kids ride along with their father or grandfather and learn about the importance of sweat equity. And it is sweet, and magical, and beautiful.

It is all those things and more. But, my friends, it’s so important for us to be real and talk about the whole: our whole self and whole life. This needs to be a space where we are safe to speak truth regarding all the parts of the whole. The beautiful and the not so beautiful.

Anyone who’s ever grown up on or currently lives on a farm can tell you that spring and fall are both exciting and excruciating at times. There can be tension, equipment breakdowns, exhaustion, and squabbles. Farming is essentially a race against the clock. There is a lot to do in a short period of time, and timing is everything in agriculture. That can add a lot of pressure. And that’s only talking about the farming aspect of it. There are also long nights at home. Dinners and bedtimes without your spouse. Events missed because daddy’s working. And that can be lonely, and hard, and trying, too.

I don’t write any of this to complain or make you feel sympathy. I love my life and the way we’ve chosen to live it. And so I’ll write about the beauty and post the pretty pictures of kids riding on tractors and learning a trade, but I never want to portray an unattainable picture perfect life that doesn’t really exist. I want to be in a community where we can talk openly about realities of life. Can we do that together? Be real and share both the struggles and the joy?