Ready for the Kiddos: Summer CSA 2017 - Week #19

Ready for the Kiddos: Summer CSA 2017 – Week #19

Posted October 10, 2017

The craving I feel for time with my kids this year is intense. I miss them so much throughout the season. While I see them every day and make time for them, I can’t help but feel like 6 months of their lives just flew past me.

In a farmer’s version of senioritis, here at the end of the season, my need to be with my children comes screaming out. I start to lose motivation to work and just want to be with them very badly. All season we are just working so hard and much of our time with the kids belongs to the land of logistics and drill sergeantry. By this I mean, it’s a lot of planning of who will take care of them and when. And meanwhile, our time with them is all about marching orders. “Finish your dinner.” “Time for bath.” “Pick out your books.” “Get your hair brushed.” “Load up in the car, please.” “Put your shoes on!” etc. There is so little time to just hang out and enjoy slow time together.

I hadn’t realized how that primal need to be with our progeny was creeping up on me until last week. I was feeling really bummed out and unmotivated. Going through the motions, but not really knowing what was simmering under the surface. Then on Friday, I had an unexpected change in our babysitting plan. And instead of stressing out that I couldn’t work, I felt this immediate, wonderful joy as I realized it meant I’d get to spend the whole day with Juna and Edie.

I threw Juna on my back and we took a walk in the woods, looking at the trees and watching for birds. At one point, she leaned in, kissed my back and said, “I love you, Mama.” Any remaining melancholy I was feeling melted away. I realized right then and there that I just can’t wait to be with my kids for the winter.

I relish the winters with our kids. I will go from working ~ 50 hours a week down to about 20 hours a week once we get into November. All those extra hours will be spent with our daughters. Library time, coffee shop hanging out, late fall walks at Stewart Park with Juna on my back, hot chocolate and snowmen, skiing the back fields, teaching the kids how to ski at Tyrol, reading books, making crafts, and cleaning the cobwebs, sticky cabinets, and unvisited crevices and corners behind couches that get neglected during the season.

The winter will pass quickly, as they always do. And by March, I’ll be starting to feel stirrings. I’ll be saddened that kiddo time is ending, but feel ready to put my work boots back on, excited by the new season ahead. And so life will go, a constant cycle, a constant ebb and flow, push and pull.

In the Box:

Beauty Heart Radish (OR salad turnips for those regs that didn’t get them last week)
Broccoli
Butternut Squash
Carrot
Celeriac
Delicata Squash
Garlic
Green Kale
Jalapeno
Onion, Yellow
Potatoes, Gold
Red Leaf Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Sweet Potatoes

EOs only:

Acorn Squash
Beets
Brussels Sprouts
Tatsoi

Ready for the Kiddos: Summer CSA 2017 – Week #19

In the Box:

Weekly Recipes