This morning, I read again from the gorgeous gardening, meditation, living life book, “Gardening at the Dragon’s Gate: At Work in the Wild and Cultivated World,” by Wendy Johnson. She writes in a way that makes me want to go out and kiss my garden and hold the dirt in my hands and whisper blessings over it for all it does for us.
Farm life has taught us so much about the cycles of life. Each has its joys and struggles. Halfway through one cycle, we are tired of the struggles of that time period, and longing for the joys of the next. Then we get into the next season and remember the joys of the last, and get stuck sometimes, moping about the struggles of this. The grass can look greener, I suppose. We also have learned to treasure the things we get to do in one season that are specific to that season. We will miss those things in the coming months.
After all the hard work of Spring, with the planting and getting started – the plowing or tending in the rain; we look forward to the warmth of Summer. The days are getting longer, the sun is warmer, and there is new life everywhere from plants sprouting in the garden, to babies everywhere on the farm – baby goats, baby pigs, baby rabbits, and new baby cows to bottle feed!
After all the hard work of Summer, with the weeding, and watering – the dry and blistering heat; we look forward to the cooling down of Autumn. Summertime is full of loud whoops and hollers from the boys on their bikes going off jumps, pretending to be knights and jousting or sword fighting in the yard, running through sprinklers, or coming home from adventures in the fields with the purple of blackberries all over their fingers and faces.
After all the hard work of Autumn, with the endless harvesting and canning – the pickling spices and dyed fingers; we look forward to the stillness and rest of Winter. By the end of Autumn, we are worn out and looking forward to the shorter days of Winter, the fires in the fireplace, the reading, the big fluffery blankets on the beds, and Sleep!
After all the hard work of Winter, with the freezing pipes, and tending to animals in the snow – watching over pigs as they go into labor in single digit weather; we look forward to the sunshine again of Spring.One of the restful parts of Winter, is the fireplace, and reading out loud in the evenings – Great, Sweeping Stories that we share. In Summertime, the boys are riding bikes until dark, and there is no time for long stories read together in the evenings.
Yesterday was a day when I was feeling very much ready to start something new. How lovely it is that there is always something new to look forward to in the next timeframe.
This morning, Bean found money from the Tooth Fairy under his pillow. He came in to announce that his very favorite activity is now Losing a Tooth. He looks older this morning, and I realized that I am going to really miss him being a little boy. I had to remind myself of what I was just saying here, that with each season, there are joys and struggles. With each age, our boys have their delights and their challenges. Understanding these cycles, helps me remember to treasure every stage in their lives, these precious moments of snuggles when they are young, and also look forward to the new things they will bring with each new year.
photo from here
