Saturday musings...now and then

I got mad at the farmer today. I'm trying to freeze zuccinni and also had to get pickles made that we picked the other day. I am also trying to chase two kids and calm a lil' boy who I think is starting to cut teeth. On top of the normal daily stuff of laundry, cooking, cleaning and being the lead entertainer.

So I had a fight with him in my head because he wasn't helping me. The buzzer was going off for the first batch of pickles, I didn't have enough jars so I was trying to wash and sterilize jars, I had brine simmering on the stove, I was trying to give a shopping list to the farmer's mom who was going to Eau Claire for a big city shopping run, and get the baby some lunch because within the last week he's decided he's gonna eat baby food cuz he's hungry and when he's hungry he's hungry NOW and Connor wanted a snack and Em wanted me to play coloring with her.

So when I have a fight with the farmer in my head...what? don't give me that look like I'm crazy...y'all know exactly what I'm talkin' about.  :) Yeah, thought so! So anyways, usually I win...but today I lost. I started thinking about a book I read lately about farming in Wisconsin in the early-mid 1900s. No electricity, outdoor plumbing and it also got me thinking about my grandma's and how their life was growing up and when they first started raising kids.

I have it pretty easy. They didn't have a television they could turn on to entertain the kids for an hour while I regain my sanity. They didn't have bouncy seats and walkers to entertain the baby. They couldn't cheat to get caught up on the laundry by just throwing it into the dryer or put on a disposable diaper because they forgot to wash diapers last night. They couldn't turn on the air conditioner while canning because it got too hot in the kitchen. They had to pump water from the well and use wood to fill the cookstove. They didn't have a freezer to put away meat, fruits and vegetables. It was canned. ALL of it.

And they didn't have a choice - they had to do it. They grew gardens bigger than mine because that was their primary food source. There was no running into town for pizza if they didn't feel like cooking that night.

I need to keep telling myself that I can get it done. And you know what? Once I told myself that I could get it done, I got it done. The zuccinni is freezing in the freezer and the pickles are cooling on the counter. The babe got fed, the lil' man got his snack, Miss Em got her coloring time with mama, the laundry is being washed, the kitchen is kinda cleaned, and supper was made and on the table.

But not quite entirely without a couple looks from this one...

I wished I remembered the name of the book about farming, it was a story about a family here in Wisconsin. One of the chapter describes the family's wait to get electricity brought into the farm and how exciting it was. Then when the electricity was turned on, the mom went nuts saying how she couldn't believe how dirty the house was once it was all lit up. Maybe I just need to stop using lights and use candles...then I won't feel so bad when I think the house is messy all the time.  :)

Blessings,
Lisa