Farm Family: Fall Share #6 – 11/26/24

Farm Family

About a year ago, our 9-member, all-woman pack line volunteers started a book club. The boss doesn’t always get included in the social going ons of the farm, so I was tickled when I got invited to be a part of it!

Over the last year, our book club has read all manner of books – non-fiction about cell phones and anxiety, utopian stories about a world post climate collapse, fantasy, and all sorts of fun fiction novels. And while reading (or listening to) the books is a super fun part of book club, by far getting to spend non-work time together is the true delight of book club.

There’s wine, delicious dishes with lots of farm veggies, and so much laughter.

This group of 9 women, (which includes my own mother – cool, right?) range from their mid twenties to mid seventies.  We all come from pretty different social backgrounds – our love of local food our organizing principle – and so the diversity across the group is SO fun. It also makes our discussions, whether book centric or not, much richer than they might otherwise be in a regular social circles. In my view, a great book club isn’t about the book, really – it’s about the larger community connection of the club’s readers.

This group began to coin themselves ‘farm family.’

I can’t tell you how much deep joy this brings me. To have created a place, an environment where the work gets done, yes, but the important things in life can happen – laughter, trust, connection, friendship – is something I feel quite proud of. Bonus for me when I get to be a part of it at book club!

Family and community comes in all sorts of different forms. Lucky me, I get to be part of two farm families.

May you share delicious food with family – of origin or chosen – or anything in between this Thanksgiving.