Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Making of a Mother

By the time the Lord made mothers, He was into the sixth day working
Overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much
Time on this one?"

And the Lord answered and said, "Have you read the spec sheet on her?
She has to be completely washable, but not elastic; have 200 movable
Parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap
That can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she
Stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a
Broken heart; and have six pairs of hands."

The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs
Of hands! No way!" said the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's
The three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!"

"And that's on the standard model?" the Angel asked.

The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see
Through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing
Even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head
Are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can.
And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for
Looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves
Him or her without even saying a single word."

The Angel tried to stop the Lord "This is too much work for one day.
Wait until tomorrow to finish."

"But I can't!" The Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this
Creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself
When she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger
And can get a nine year old to stand in the shower."

The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her
So soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You
Have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be
Able to reason, and negotiate."

The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the
woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like You have a leak with this model. I
Told You that You were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak." the Lord objected. "That's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow,
Her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her
Pride."

The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of
Everything for this one. You even created the tear!"

The Lord looked at the Angel and smiled and said, "I'm afraid you are
Wrong again. I created the woman, but she created the tear!"

Saturday, March 5, 2011

The Little Things

having someone with steady employment is the greatest thing.. there isnt that constant worry, or dread... now there is continued HOPE and better things to come. We are talking about buying our first home next year... can't believe that we will be able to continue with our dream. I knew it would happen, just seemed like forever to get here.

Once we find our home, and get it fixed up, the year after that, we will plant a big garden, in hopes of learning to can, and preserve all of what we grow. Depending on where we will be living, we hope to get Urban Chickens.. I was born on a farm, and loved that life, but when you live in a huge city, its very hard to have that "urban farm life". But we will get there. Just takes a bit of planning, time and money.

Another item on our agenda will be the purchasing of Mason Bees. They are a native Bee to Oregon, and I find them truly fascinating. They don't sting unless you try and really do them harm, and they are the best pollinators.. I found a website that has directions on how to build your own Mason Bee Houses.
http://www.citygirlfarming.com/Bees/BeeKeeping.html

Seems funny, that the generation that I am, we as parents and even non-parents are finding ways to be urban farmers, not only for the fun, but the fresh food. I made a promise to myself, if we ever got a lot of money, I would buy urban land, turn it into a public garden, and all people had to pay for was the water, as long as they up keep it, they can take up to 20 lbs of food a week.

I grew up on the fresh stuff, and was super lean then, and then as I got older, I lost my way, but with the help of Modern medicine, I learned that I am Insulin Resistant, so basically if I over do it on carbs, it turns to sugar, that doesnt get processed, thus turning to fat. ICK, so, while planning my life, and my garden, just thinking of all the sweat i'll use up... amazing

My son, who is 2.5 will be raised with a garden, compost pile, his own bees, urban chickens, and other little critters. This seems normal for me and my family. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me here, and I'll see if I can help. I have a wonderful green thumb, and if I don't know the answer, I know lots of other Urban/Rural Farmers that will...