Simple Life

The simple life is something I feel that I have always lived. I feel that I am not a high maintenance woman as my childhood shaped the person that I am today. I know what it's like to not have money to do things with friends or to have the best name brand clothes as my friends. I would not dare say that I grew up poor as I was blessed in many other ways. I grew up living right next to my grandparents farm and that is one thing I am so grateful for. Without living like I did I feel that I would have never known what true hard work really is and what it is about. I am talking about hard work, working on a farm and working to pay for things in life, and not the extra stuff. I am talking about food on the table, clothes and things we had to have, no extras.

My dad's family is large as there are ten children total, my dad was the youngest. My dad was the only child to stay and live right next door and help out. My dad was the one to always help out with the maintenance of my grandparents house, to always keep the spring water going to our homes. The things my brother and I done were things like help cut wood, plant potatoes and dig them, help with the garden, mow, etc.

These are memories that I will forever hold dear to my heart, especially the planting a digging taters as we call them here. We are country, mountain people around these parts of North Carolina. ;)

This past weekend we dug our taters that we planted earlier in the year and it brought back so many memories of when I was younger. I had to take a picture of my dad on the tractor, it was with my husband's cell phone so it's not the best quality.
In the background you can see my aunt Christine, she came to help us. This field that we now plant is nothing like we use to plant. When I was smaller we would plant at least an acre field and it would take all day to do with 10 people helping. My job was to drag the chain after my uncles put down the fertilizer, and just before everyone else would lay down the taters behind me. I use to complain so hard about this job because it was hard work for a little girl like me to drag a heavy chain around. Looking back I see how important of a job it was as it helped those taters grow.

I am so blessed in many ways, especially now. Even my husband never had the opportunity like I did to learn how things work on a farm and what it's like to get eggs from a chicken, watch them ring the nose of a hog. These are small memories that I will hold so dear to my heart, and I want to say "THANK YOU" to my parents for raising me up like they did.