Back to School on the Farm: Veggie Share Week #13 – 8/31/22

 In CSA Newsletter

The kids go back to school Thursday. Every year it seems the summer is spread out before us, and then, zip! it’s back to school already.

You might think that the kids going back to school wouldn’t impact Michael and I too much since we are both working full time while the kids are home in the summer, but I’ll miss them for sure.

Because Michael and I each work at our homes, when the kids are around we still get to see them while we are working. Just now at lunch, Sora came out and chatted to me multiple times (while also performing and trying to act cool for the crew). Then Zea asked me to come in and check out her new tennis shoes that she worked hard to pay for.  When the kids are at Michael’s house, he often comes in from tractor work to eat with them. Even when at work, we both still have access to our kids. This connectivity goes away once we hit school.

A list of things this working mom will miss when her kids go back to school:

  • Getting up before them and leaving notes on the kitchen table that remind them what to eat for lunch (leftovers with vegetables!)  and remind them that I love them.
  • Watching the kids enjoy the farm – running through irrigation sprinklers, practicing driving the golf carts, picking flowers, or when they decide to brave the heat and go pick strawberries, staining their shirts.
  • The silly things they draw on the crew whiteboard.
  • The hugs and head pats I get to sneak throughout the day.
  • Not having to worry about bedtime – staying up late watching movies or doing bike adventures.
  • No lunches to pack!
  • Sleeping until 6:45. No go when school’s in – bus picks them up at 7:04 this year (ugh. bus driver shortage!)
  • Random conversations I get to have with the kids when they realize I’m in the office, and therefore stationary and ‘available’ to them.
  • When the wind carries their laughter from the house out into the fields.  This happens too with their bickering, but this is a list of positives, okay?
  • Glimpses of them playing with their friends… the lemonade stand, endless hours of trampolining, older kids hiding from younger kids, all the outside things.

I always feel sad when it’s time for them to go back to school. The farmhouse feels empty and quiet….

Wait, the farmhouse will be empty and quiet… and CLEAN!

And such is parenting – it teaches us to love the joys our kids bring and to appreciate our times of freedom from the stresses they also bring.

It’s been lovely to have them home. But alas, the transition is here and they are ready for their friends and their activities and more action than the farm brings. Another summer gone!

Good luck to all the families undergoing this yearly transition. Hope it goes well for you and your kiddos!

Cheers,
Farmer Cassie