Timeshare Worth It After All?

     We had a wonderful Christmas. Our oldest daughter Emily and son-in-law Jason drove up from Alabama. All of our children were at home under one roof. There is just nothing better. Not even expensive trips and cruises. Home is where it's at, in my book.

     That is not to say that vacations aren't fun. Or good for you. Traveling is not essential, in fact in most cases it's a luxury--but sometimes a break is in order.  Relaxation and recharging of batteries.

     We made plans to go to Branson, Missouri after Christmas.  I was really conflicted about going. I'm on a once a day milking schedule with Betsy the cow and though my friend Christy and her family offered to take care of the place while we were gone, up until the last minute I thought I might let the family go without me. Pongo, our month old Angus/Hereford bull calf,  had just bloated. Bloat in cattle can be life threatening. I figured I would stay home with Mary Pat and have a bit of a "staycation." But that didn't feel right either. And Pongo miraculously got better.

     We bought Timeshare for a reason--to force us to go on vacation. So I went. And I was reminded of some important things...

1.  I love my family, even if we're not perfect, even if the lady in the room below complained that we woke her baby up with the noise and something falling off her wall. My children can be rowdy, but in truth, each year do better with traveling.

2.  I love my husband, even when we fall into bed exhausted and cranky, wondering why we drove so far, far away to experience stress on yet a new and unique level. He took the children to museums and movies. He dealt with drama, he put up with me. He is an amazing person.

3.  Branson, MO really is fun, even (maybe especially) when you take ten children, a couple of whom aren't yours.

4.  Expensive lunches can be worth it if the waiters throw bread at you (Lambert's Cafe). Lots of stops on long car trips are not all bad.

5. A break from home and farm chores helped me relax, think and put things in perspective.

6.  Friends you can count on to feed scores of livestock and milk your Jersey cow are priceless, the kind who devise a way to throw a blanket over a normally placid indoor-weinerdog-turned-snapping-killerdog to get it outside for a potty break.

7.  And finally, I love coming back home. There is no sad feeling that vacation is over...I can't wait to drive up the lane.

                               

                                                        "Home is where the heart is."

           
                                                               With our loved ones.

 

"A family is holy not because it is perfect but because God's grace is at work in it, helping it to set out anew everyday on the way of love."

- U.S. Catholic Bishops, Follow the Way of Love There are all sorts of families. Spiritual, adopted, nuclear, extended. Draw strength from yours. Give of yourself to them. To another. On vacation, at work, at home. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

From a Glass of Milk

Community. We had friends over for dinner last night. They have six girls close in age to our six youngest. Our active, noisy kids, who seem to fuss a good bit with each other played amazingly well together. Most of mine are boys and we loved how the girls and boys all ran around the farm, petting animals and not having issues with "they only have girl toys" or "they only have boy toys." Thirteen children ran around and parents shared great conversation and a thrown-together meal for all.

Our friends are so connected in our community. Veritably everyone I talked about the husband piped up, "Oh, he's my cousin," or some relation. We laughed but it's something that makes our community special. Sure, some relationships may erode or fade over time and people may act like strangers, but on the positive side, there is an accountability factor. Would that we felt that with all of our neighbors. A connectedness even deeper than blood. Something more spiritual. As Christians might call it, "being part of a body."

We laughed some more, we shared fresh milk from my cow Betsy and talked about earlier times. About a connection with the land and soil. We talked about how Betsy's milk changes flavor slightly, depending on what she has eaten. A Jersey, she has a rich, creamy milk (the cream is amazing, really) with a yellowish color you don't see in the supermarket from the beta-carotenes and vitamins she consumes in our pasture grass and her alfalfa. There are probiotics in her milk that are so healthy for our immune systems. And it all comes from the soil we live on, the rain that falls on us and the sun that shines down over us.

We can live on sterilized, fortified products--and antibiotics and lists of medications. Those can be life-saving and good. But in an unbalanced relationship, they can be unhealthy for the body. Somehow, drinking this natural milk, eating local organic beef and vegetables and even local honey feels healthy. It feels like living in relationship with the land I'm living on. In a similar way, living connected to the people around me--not stuck in front of the television or gaming device or computer--working with them, volunteering, truly caring for them, living in community with them is lifeblood to the body. One gives and thereby receives.

Man was not created to be alone, but to live in community. There is a place for solitude, retreat, and cloistered communities. There are certainly different gifts and temperaments. But we were made for each other. We are healthiest when in communion with each other. I pray that you are able to find your place in the body that comprises all of us, locally and globally. Start right where you are. Prayer is the most powerful connection and effective means.Give thanks for what you do have, not lament what is missing.  Find God right where you are and share His love.

A Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Suzy
The Abbey Farm