I wish there was some way to bring you along and show you this little slice of country where we live. To let you experience the people and culture, the friendship and tight knit community, the little shops and cute old ladies, the grocery store where someone always takes your groceries to your car for you, the waves you get from every single vehicle you pass on the way to town. To experience the vastness of the prairie and the beauty of life revolving around the seasons and crops. I wish every one of you could get a taste of life here and I wish I could share it with you all in a more tangible way.
Just yesterday I was reflecting on all of this and this life we get to live here. I cannot help but feel as if I'm in a dream and I need to pinch myself to wake up. The other part of me feels terrified that it will all just disappear as quickly as it came and I find myself fighting the panic in my chest that maybe this season won't last long and life will return to hardship. I hear that this is common to feel this way after what we experienced. I believe it will take time and embracing life and walking day by day for awhile before these feelings still in my heart.
People are really what make a place. I think most people would drive through our little area and not give it a second glance. There is nothing significant about it and it seems like a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere. But beneath the surface is a whole network of people and community that is unseen to the naked eye. These people are what makes this place so special. Yes, it's beautiful, yes, it's cute, clean, and quaint. Yes, it's old fashion-y and welcoming. But all of that would be empty without the depth of friendship.
Saturday my daughter and I headed into town to have a mother/daughter date. We went into an antique shop and walked Main Street. At the antique shop we bought two books, Mandy and Singing Wheels. I hadn't been in many of the stores for years and she doesn't remember any of them from when she was a baby. It was so fun to look around town with her and to pick up a few necessities while we were there. We visited and it was so fun to have time with just her while the boys worked with their Dad at home. We got lunch out before heading home. We had a wonderful time together.
On Sunday we went to church and afterwards we got the house and food ready for company that evening. We had invited a couple families from church over for dinner. I found out that it was one of my friend's birthday that day, too! I had found a perfect gift for her the day before while I was shopping. I got her a small decor plaque with the name of the area she lives in and some chocolate.
It turned out wonderfully that I had a gift to give her for her birthday. We made deer burgers, broccoli salad, watermelon, homemade spearmint tea and lemonade. Friends brought hummus and chips, veggies and dip, and a pasta salad. We had more than enough food! It was a wonderful evening. There were children everywhere, in and out of the house. They swung on the swing and ran in the yard, they picked crab apples and "cooked" in their play "kitchen" outside, which is just a crude little work station they made out of leftover wood from the chicken coop. They had a blast. I think there is nothing so refreshing as good friends.
Monday we put the house back in order, stripped beds and washed sheets as usual, and did schoolwork. It was a lovely, quiet day. The mornings have had a crisp feel to them and already I can tell that autumn for the northland is right around the corner. In another month it should really feel like fall here. It is both exciting and sad for me. This was the most lovely summer we've had in a very long time. I don't remember the last time we enjoyed a season so thoroughly as this one. But, I love autumn. There is something so exhilarating to me about the crisp weather and the impending winter that makes me so excited. I know a lot of people dread winter but I think it is simply wonderful. I love the coziness of home during the colder months, the gathering of friends, the baking and yummy soups to eat, and all the loveliness the colder months provide.
Tuesday we did our morning work and a friend text me that she was going to be cleaning at the house they just bought. I had told her to let me know when she was going to clean and I would come and help her. It's just a short 10 min walk to the other side of town where the house sits. We loaded up backpacks of cleaning supplies and rags, sandwiches and snacks, and walked over. It was a really nice walk. The children set to washing down doors and walls and I focused on helping in the kitchen with the fridge and stove. It was quite nasty. I enjoy cleaning though and we chatted as we worked which made the time go by so fast. Before I knew it a couple hours had flown by and she had to get back to the field to help make hay. Back home again, we rested and read in the heat of the afternoon. I made a simple supper and got the children ready to go to town. We made the 25 minute drive into town to hear a family concert by a family that travels and sings. It was fun for the kids to see all the different instruments that were played and it was a lovely evening. The singing was beautiful and the message was very encouraging to continue to be faithful and to finish well. This is something that has been on my heart a lot the past year so it spoke to me deeply. There were a couple ladies there that I knew but most I didn't. I got to meet some new people and that is always nice when you move to a new area.
Wednesday was again a slower day at home. I was very tired and only did the little cleaning that needed done. We read a lot and enjoyed time together. I looked through the sales flyer for the grocery store and made out my grocery list. After dinner, my daughter and I went into town to get the weeks groceries. It was nice to not have all the children along and it's always special to spend undivided attention with my daughter. She's growing up so fast and I cherish these times to hear her heart and be with her. I was always very close with my mom and I hope that my daughter and I share that same closeness as she continues to mature and grow up.
I just love our little grocery store. I was able to lower our groceries about $20 this week which I was happy about but it's still more than I would like for it to be. I'm going to be trying a few things over the next few weeks and hopefully will be able to get it down to $85-$100 per week. I'd love for it to be less but I just see no way to do that with the prices here. A gallon of milk is $5, the cheapest meat is $3/lb, veggies and fruit are expensive, too. I'm still tweaking how/what we eat here and how to gage what we need in a week. However, I feel like I'm on a good track and I have no doubt that I will find a system that works well soon.
I am astounded by how quickly and enjoyably the weeks seem to pass. It's already Thursday and we are almost to the weekend again. This weekend will be full with our middle child turning 7 on Saturday and church on Sunday. I wish I could more fully capture how life feels here. All the little moments. All the feelings it produces. The quiet evenings and bird songs. The way my heart feels when I see the warm light filtering through the curtains in the evening from outside my house.
The joy of seeing fruit push out in our raised beds in spite of the rough growing season.
The feelings of joy and fondness that rise in my chest when I hear the youngest squeaking around on his old red and white tricycle that was a hand me down gift from a friend here. The way the light filters into my basement room when the curtain is opened or the satisfaction of a cleaned bathroom.
The enjoyment of mornings spent in our school room learning together. The beauty of the landscape when driving and the changing colors of the crops as they ripen. The vastness of the sky that is awe-inspiring.
The joy of friendship and community. These are not things that are easily captured through pictures or explained with words. They are felt and experienced. While I wish that I could bottle it up and send it to you some way, I hope more than anything that each of you experience this same thing right where you are. That you enjoy the simple pleasures of life and pause to breathe in the glory of simply living. I pray you have wonderful friends that make your heart sing, and that you pause to see all the little moments that make life wonderful. These are sacred things. This is sacred living.