Cassandra and Mari: Veggie Share Week #5 – July 5, 2023

Cassandra and Mari

Sometimes I look at my children and I just can’t believe how grown they are. This sounds trite, I know, but it is still true.

Over the last couple of days I have  watched my 13 year old (who is feeling very charitable in family life after being away for 2 weeks) make caramel, clear the dishes, braid her sisters hair, water dying trees in the yard, etc. She is almost as tall as my mother. She is long and lean, tan, looking more and more like a woman than child by the day.

Multiply that times 3, cause there are 3 girls running around my house. I sometimes look at each one and marvel at the fact that they grow. We feed them, make sure they drink water, and protect them from bodily harm. They grow and grow and grow.

Whether it’s a seed or a child, there is an awe that never goes away for me.

This weekend, a long time farm family came to the strawberry event. Their oldest, Cassandra (who used to go by Cassie) and their second, Mari, gave me hugs. I have known them both since they were tiny. Cassie would come see me at the market and I would always make ha big deal out of our sharing the same name. (I would also consistently forget Mari’s name because she didn’t share mine. To this day, her father always quietly and sweetly reminds me of it so she doesn’t feel as left out from the whole sister having the farmer’s name thing).  Cassandra will be a senior in high school, Mari a freshman.

Seeing Cassandra and Mari both as bonafide teenagers was wild!

We chatted a while, and later on in the weekend, their father sent a photograph of his girls picking strawberries in the fields over a decade ago. Mari was just a toddler. Cassandra, maybe 5 or 6, had an adorable casted arm but was still picking berries.

The photo hit me. Hard. Just the awe of it all.

That Michael and I, through all of our hard work, and the hard work of many dedicated staff, have been part of nourishing Cassandra and Mari all these years, AND that their family has supported us all these years.

It made me cry.

I’m proud I’ve been a part of helping Mari and Cassandra grow. And I feel so lucky that I actually get the opportunity to meet the people we feed. In a world where things can feel so horribly disconnected, it is an honor and a gift that we get to directly connect with the people we feed.

Thank you.

Enjoy the bounty!