Welcome to the Letters from the Homestead series where I share stories of our life on the homestead. I hope you can connect to these snippets from our simple life here in Wisconsin.
February 11, 2024
The cool weather has paused the maple syrup operation. Last week, though, we were able to finish up our first 13 quarts of syrup from our 70 tapped trees. We are thankful for the surprise February syrup! It’s been fun to see how the two older children are so eager to be a part of this work this year. Our son, specifically, has really taken over some responsibilities (like gathering the firewood and keeping the fire going during the day) all on his own. It amazes me that he cares and is interested in this, and I hope his love for harvesting from the land continues for all the days of his life.
That was what I reminded myself as I looked out the kitchen window to see my son driving the four-wheeler with his little red wagon hooked to the hitch, full of firewood. Even though I wanted him to be inside doing school work during those morning hours, I battled myself on what really is more important right now. Should I make him stop working outside on this beautiful morning, doing something productive that he loves, to come in and do a math worksheet? The professional educator in me screamed, “Yes! Schoolwork first, then onto the farm chores.” But the homesteader in me screamed, “No! Let him do his work outside, let him learn. Bringing him in will only cause resentment in him towards school and you.” And so the battle raged as I debated what to do, staring at this wonderful little boy out the window. Eventually both the teacher and the homesteader won, and all that needed to be accomplished was finished, even if it wasn’t how I had originally envisioned it.
And that’s how a lot of life on a homestead goes, isn’t it? We have a plan for something, then something comes up and changes our plan. We have to be able to adjust and adapt, which luckily for us, God has designed us to do. People just live and adjust and make things work, and that’s just the way it is.
Read last week’s letter here.
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