I have never slept in a farmhouse or even been to a real farm. I really want to go someday and drive a tractor where the soft soil is dark and rich. Take our children into a small town cafe where everyone immediately knows we're strangers.
I suspect a small town farmer might be sitting near us, who recently looked out over his or her crops with both a sense of pride and frustration. Pride at the bountiful harvest and frustration that some of the fields did not flourish. I wonder if some farmers think, "I could have done better."
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Summer Fades
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We live in Del Sur, which is an amazing place, but our family would starve even if I planted every square inch of our small yard. Theresa and I are not growing wheat, corn, sweet peas or even broccoli. Instead, we are raising our three boys who are quickly turning into men. I am really just a husband and father who at the end of summer thinks, I could have done better.
When summer began I looked at our wish list with great optimism. We tilled the soil and planted so much and kept looking at our fields. We had some beautiful plants rise up from the dirt like our trip to Europe, New Jersey and or our last minute dashes to the beaches of Del Mar or just ha
nging out on our living room couch eating popcorn. No homework, just time together as a family.
nging out on our living room couch eating popcorn. No homework, just time together as a family.
But, I also think about how I never got our boys on a camping trip, riding a raft on a challenging river or even an overnight to Big Bear. The list of what we failed to accomplish seems so darn long. I guess sometimes it is easier to look at the plants that did not grow than those that did.
Now that the growing season is coming to an end, I will probably take those bags of seeds that did not grow and place them in a safe place until spring. When the snow melts, we will look for just the right place to plant those seeds, so they can bloom in the summer of 2014. It seem so far away.
I know we only have so many summers with our children, but I will let you in on a secret. One seed we are keeping in our basement and ready for planting is a trip to Idaho or Montana.
When we see a farmer on a tractor, our kids know I will yet again embarrass them because I will be pulling our rental car to the side of the road and asking the hard-working farmer to help me fulfill a dream. After all that is what life is all about.
Enjoy your week!
Ray and Theresa Shay
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