Views from the Farmstead

This has been sitting in my drafts since February – I have decided to now publish it.

Yes, I am sure the title caught your attention! After reading some excerpts and some of the uproar, I was excited when my copy of Amy Chua’s, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, came in at the library. I was #41 on the hold list and thankfully those ahead of me were fast readers.

In the items that I read prior to the reading the book, there were obviously some that were upset with her parenting skills or what they perceived as a lack of…yet, I read some stories in which the author herself almost sounded regretful about her choices in retrospect. Going in, I didn’t know what to expect and being one that likes to make up my own mind after gathering the facts, I plunged into reading during my kids piano practice sessions.

Needless to say, I was so engrossed that I didn’t realize when my daughter’s session was over and it was time for mine to begin. The book held my attention from the beginning and while not in total agreement with everything, I don’t fault her because she was doing what she thought was best for her daughters and honestly, none of our children (nor us) came with instructions so all of us have made our share of parenting mistakes we are just not gutsy enough to compile them in a book for others to read and thus judge us.

From the beginning, Ms. Chua is clear that “Chinese” isn’t limited to those from China nor is “Western” limited to those of us from the West. Learning has always been important in my home. My grandfather read the newspaper everyday and made a habit of looking up words that he didn’t know and he would start to use them in his vocabulary. Neither of my parents went to college yet from the time I was small, I heard on a continuous basis:

You have 2 strikes against you – color and gender so you must work extra hard at everything in order for it to count.
I was always expected to do my best! While my stuffed animal collection was never threatened with bodily harm, I did lose some privileges along the way due to lack of effort.

Now that I am a mom and a homeschooling mom at that, my kids will definitely tell you that their best is the goal and no I am not a fan of everyone getting a trophy just for participating.

• Am I too hard on them at times? I think so…
• Do I expect too much from them? At times…..
• Do I think they are capable of more? Of course….

Sometimes my husband thinks I may need to lighten up and let’s not even talk about my parents – I love how they conveniently forget everything they did as parents when they become grandparents. However, all of them change their tune when they see the work and preparation intersect in this thing called life. Everyday we see more and more how what they have learned is shaping them into the beings that God would have them to be….that is our job as parents – to prepare them.

Very few people in this world are full of that much self-motivation that they will rise to the next level by and of themselves, most of us need to be pushed/challenged. The Chinese are obviously better at that than many Westerners and empirically it has been shown and proven.

I enjoyed the book and appreciate Ms. Chua for putting it all out there – the good, the bad and the ugly.  Some days in my home are not picture perfect and tranquil but I believe if there is enough love to go around – the love will cover the multitude of mistakes that we as parents make when trying to train and raise up our little blessings.

In life, I find it easy to get caught up in the messages that surround us whether through advertising/marketing or just from being around others.  I realize that our economy is not what it used to be but I am thankful for my husband’s job, his ability to save and plan/prepare for the future and how it allows us to live the life that we have chosen.  While I am thankful for these things, the rise in the costs of food and gas means that those well-earned dollars do not cover as much as they used to six to twelve months ago.  So, I do what any frugal gal does and I try to make it work aka Tim Gunn. 

While out shopping today, it dawned on me yet again that it costs money to eat well in this country.  Trust me, I am not talking lobster, caviar and filet mignon well, I am just talking no HFCS, strange added ingredients well.  I am not going to jump on my soapbox about farm subsidies, HFCS isn’t the same as sugar, and the like because all of that information does little to change the minds of the government decision makers nor the corporations that produce much of the stuff that is passed off as food nowadays.  Nope, no soapbox for me because I choose to be thankful that:

My husband is gainfully employed;

I have choices about what my family and I eat;

I know how to take whole food and make it into a delicious meal;

I have some land and the wherewithal to grow some of the food for my family; and

My family and I are able to give to those organizations that help feed others.

I refuse to not give thanks for what may seem like the small things in my life.

Ever since I was a young girl, I have loved to read. When I say love, I mean l-o-v-e!! I kept a Harriett the Spy notebook on my neighbors and my father would confiscate the flashlights in the house because I was known for staying up waaaaay past my bedtime in order to finish a book under my bed covers.

As a mom, I want my children to also have a love of reading. Every summer, we look forward to participating in our library’s summer reading program. I was thrilled to read the 4th book by Marie Bostwick and my lovely Cobbled Court quilting gals. I don’t want to rush her but I am ready for the 5th book.

I don’t like reading books with a lot of smut, so I try to go with authors that I am familiar with and librarian recommendations. On a recent trip into the library, I was checking out the just came in book shelves and saw Friendship Bread by Darien Gee. I had never heard of her but the story line seemed tame enough, so I checked the book out.

Source

This book had me on an emotional roller coaster. In the end, I was ready to read it all over again. I fell in love with the characters and look forward to Ms. Gee developing them and their lives in the future. The book also involved Amish Friendship Bread. Most of us have been gifted with starter in the past and we either received it with joy or with dread. Warning, the book may inspire you start a starter but let it be known that Gee’s website, Friendship Bread Kitchen has a treasure trove of recipes that I never knew you could do with friendship bread.

If you are a reader, this book is a must add to your reading list.

I originally started this blog as a means of having an outlet in which to write – write about things that were going on in the world and my views on them, write about the happenings in our family, write about whatever came to my mind. Funny thing is, I would sometimes have lots to share and sometimes not so much. I have been wanting to write lately but my blog was messed up to the point that I couldn’t even log in. Go figure!

There are still some quirks, but the show must go on. We continue homeschooling throughout the summer but on a lighter and abbreviated schedule. It helps maintain the sanity of all of us. This week they are enjoying a Vacation Bible School program at a nearby church and I am trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. Of course, I have yet to accomplish any of the things that I *planned* but that’s life isn’t it?

We did enjoy a fun homeschool trip to St. Mary’s City and here’s a slideshow for your viewing pleasure:

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=104087

The warmer weather has led to spending more time outdoors. Unfortunately for this little garter snake, he didn’t survive his chance meeting with the tractor.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/southerngirlmusings/5790138143/

We did do some strawberry picking that led to canning of strawberry preserves, strawberry syrup and strawberry lemonade concentrate, yes they are all yummy!

I hope to inhabit this space more frequently now. Thanks to those that still are around reading!

I know I am a bit late with the well wishes for the new year but Happy New Year!!!! So now for some catching up:

1) I have had a terrible cold thanks to my lovely and darling children. I am feeling better now and no longer sound like an 80 year old woman that has smoked since the womb. Starting off the new year with a cold has definitely slowed things around the house. We have finally taken down the Christmas decorations and that took a load off of me – thanks Dad for your help.

2) We buried my father-in-law on Monday, January 3rd. He passed on December 20th – a year and a month after his wife of 68 years passed. He tried hanging on and making a go of it after her passing but he truly was sad and broken hearted without his soulmate. He lived a long full blessed life of 92 years and will be missed dearly.

3) Homeschooling has resumed but has been slow going with my illness but we are pressing forward. The months of January and February are get-it-done months in our house as the months are usually cold and limit our out-of-the-house activities. The kids have obvious favorite subjects and I continue to be the enforcer on the not-so-favorite subjects.

4) The girls are doing well and continue laying. Of course, not daily but on average they still produce 5 eggs a day despite the cold. Plans are underway for coop expansion and the purchase of day-old chicks for replacement of current flock. I am still debating about whether I want to venture into meat birds. Leaning heavily in that direction just trying to figure out logistics for keeping and processing.

5) Garden seed catalogs are filling up the mailbox and ideas are running rampant about what to grow – so I have been pouring over my garden notebooks to see what has done well in the past and what I would like to try in the future. I am once again promising myself to not overfill the garden but most of the times these promises get broken.

6) This is my year to turn 40 and I have decided that I am going to spend some time focusing on me – big surprise right. LOL That’s what people do when they are approaching milestones.

Hope your new year has and continues to treat you well.

Peace and Blessings!!