Down on the Farm

Spending the summers growing up on my uncles farm was, for me, an education in learning about my life on the farm. Much of my time was spent in observing how my uncles milked the cows teats and how they led them afterward out to the field to eat and rest. I watched the horses, as they too, were led to the fields where they rested after pulling the wagons filled with hay into the barn.

I saw the trees which had been planted years before and had grown protecting everyone from the heat of the summer sun. And I learned to play baseball with children from nearby farms who challenged me and my friends to win. I learned about the mothers who came with their children to the country to escape the sweltering city and to gratefully breathe the country air and then to welcome their tired husbands and childrens fathers on weekends.

I grew up thankful for all that I experienced in those years and I remain thankful to this day, for all I have learned.