Green Acres

Or more like the Beverly Hillbillies. Have I mentioned that Jonathan and I had pretty similar upbringings… just in different parts of Texas. He’s the son of a grass farmer and I’m the daughter of a feed salesman/rancher. We both had access to an abundance of open land, providing the perfect backdrop for many adventures. We both had huge barns, mine full of feed and cats, and his full of tools and farm equipment, and both full of homemade contraptions. We both raised a variety of critters like cows and horses, dogs and cats, although in my house, we occasionally housed deer, goats, wild rabbits, feather-footed chickens, and even wild hogs. Our childhoods were filled with adventures that not many kids get to experience.

And yet, we grew up, met in college, married, and settled down in suburbia with our small yard, and one dog. Don’t get me wrong,I’m very, very thankful for our blessings. I love our house, we have access to wonderful amenities in our community, and our children get to experience many things that the city has to offer…things I didn’t get to do as a child. But just outside our community sits rolling hills with ponds and acreage and driving by I find that I long for just a little more room to roam… little piece of what I had growing up. So, I’m very grateful that when visiting their grandparents, my children get a little taste of life “on the farm.”

We recently made trips to both our hometowns and the kids were in heaven in these rural wonderlands. Here’s a little bit of their adventures…

The adventures are always exciting, the experiences are priceless, and it’s always hard to leave. On the upside, though, these trips a great reminder that with more land comes more work, with more critters comes more responsibility. The fact that I have a hard time keeping our lawn mowed, and our hyper terrier has been more work than having a third kid, I don’t know if I’m ready to take on the task of caring for acreage and chickens. I kind of feel like a grandparent on these trips… I get to love on the animals, soak up the freedom of roaming the open fields, and squeeze every little ounce of joy out of these experiences, but at the end of the day, I can give all of the responsibility back.

xo

nessa dee

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