Farm Work

There is a lot to be said about work. Whether it’s at an office, construction site, hospital or school there is so much to benefit from working. I think Jon and I both miss some aspects of working, but one of those is the feeling of accomplishment.  There are bits and pieces of accomplishment we feel everyday. The kids are still alive at the top of that list. But, when we get the opportunity to work, we tend to jump on it. Now you may have guessed that I’m not really talking about work in the traditional sense. There is of course my work with Trades of Hope, and Jon has his reserve duties. But I’m talking about anything that contributes to the success of someone else. We don’t have fulltime jobs which gives us a lot of freedom to be a part of other’s work. One of our favorites is the work we get to do alongside some of our family at “The Farm”.

Every year for the last 4 years we have spent time in New York at Wilkens Fruit and Fir Farm in the Hudson Valley.  My Uncle has graciously allowed us to park the RV behind the cider mill and plug in to the outlets and water there. The logistics get a little hairy sometimes, but we chalk it up to the adventure.  For example, when they are pumping cider from one tank to another we have to make sure not to use any electricity since we are plugged into the same 15 amp circuit.  Or when the cider mill is being cleaned the water pressure drops to a trickle. Don’t for a second take this as complaining.  I really kind of like that we get the rustic experience of living on the farm.  Not to mention, we are rarely in the RV during the day. That’s where the work comes in. 

Since the first day that Jon and I arrived at the farm years ago, we have both been trying to find our place where we can be as helpful as possible. Not helpful like trying to do something only to realize we don’t know how to do it, and asking for instructions would actually be less helpful than if we just did nothing. We truly wanted to learn the farm so we could just jump in wherever they might be short handed, or take on a project that they may not have time to do but in the end it would be great to have done. (Like the wagon wheels that I never got around to fixing this year, sorry about that.)  I think that this was the year. During the first weekend of Christmas Tree sales I was actually able to be a “floater”.  While Jon tied upwards of 20 trees to the roofs of vehicles, the boys ran around the farm with a walkie talkie and Baby A hung out in the kitchen or with a cousin directing traffic, I was able to move from bailing trees, to making wreaths, to running food in the bake shop, to punching the wine, to checking people out with their tree purchases.  While I felt really accomplished, the accomplishment was in the ability to be useful for my family.  I adore their farm and everything about it. I love that I have the freedom to be a part of it in any way I can, but I was so grateful to be able to give of my time in a useful way. I wasn’t in the way anymore, I was actually helping. (At least that’s my impression, Stephanie may have a different opinion.)

I could probably go on for an hour about my ‘why’ of loving the farm so much. Work just being one of the reasons. But nothing at all tops the opportunity to be with some amazing people. My Aunt and Uncle spoil my kids with love and quality time. Rarely do they say no to one of my kids asking to ride along on the tractor or golf cart.  Even during the busiest times they will take one of the kids along on their errands around the farm. AJ got to help fix a fence, LJ picked up tree trimmings and stored Halloween merchandise, Baby A helped direct traffic and pack apples.  And then there are my cousins. They adore our kids and are never afraid to back me up in my parenting.  Stephanie started the “Give me 3 reasons I should let you down from the dinner table” rule when Baby A was done eating and trying to sneak away without eating veggies.  Katrina held Baby A on her shoulders for, what seemed like hours, because she asked her to.  Toys are brought down from the attic and out of the basement when we are there.  Halloween baskets were borrowed and they even babysat the kids on 2 occasions that Jon and I got to go into the city with my cousins.  Our entire family gets filled up when we are there.  We work hard and play hard. Dinners are around one table every night. It’s such a blessing, the time we get in New York.

Something new this year for us, was participation in a Classical Conversations community. We found one about an hour north of the farm that had space for us and was willing to let us come along for the 6 weeks we were there.  It was great to give the kids some time with another “teacher” besides myself and Jon and time with other homeschooled kids. We did a field trip with the community and enjoyed our short time with them.  I’m excited about our next spurt of time on the road, but being a part of a CC community will be missed. 

Something that we are beginning to recognize is, while we believe home is where your family is (or where we park it) home is the place that you grieve when you leave it and rejoice when you return. New York has started becoming that for us. We always look forward to getting there and never look forward to leaving it. Maybe when we are done Wandering full-time, you will find us in New York. Enjoying time with family and hard, but fruitful (I had to) work on the farm.