What's Happening With the Hagers: May 2011

This past weekend we took the boys on their first turkey hunt and tried some fishing at my parent's farm. It was Mother's Day weekend, and while some mommies may like to get away, I can't think of a better way to spend it. I'll admit, at first I sighed at the thought of getting up early, putting on all of the camo garb, etc., but as I look back at the pictures I took I realize that the time spent together was priceless. One of Garett's favorite songs is the "Mossy Oak Theme Song" and the contents talk about sharing the respect and love of the outdoors with the next generation. I grew up in the country and have lost a lot of the grit that my parents and my brother have that it takes to keep a farm, garden and acreage going. If I even had it to begin with? Now that I live within city limits with all the conveniences of daily living at my fingertips I realize the importance of teaching our children about the land. Now mind you...I'm not the best teacher, but just giving them the opportunities to experience it is better than nothing. I'm so grateful my parents, siblings, and husband take an interest in farming, gardening, hunting and fishing. If I had been left to my own devices I may have forgotten how peaceful it is to sit on the farm in the morning as the sun rises, how long a Sunday can really be on the banks of a pond and how much fun you can have when you have honest quality time together that others may see as too slow of a pace or boring. It's a little like exercise to me...takes a lot to get you motivated to do it at times, but you are usually so glad you made the effort in the end.

Garett laughs at me when I talk about growing up in Bath County...says, "You aren't a farm girl!" He's right..I'm not now, but it was passed on to me in a way that I still respect it and value it enough to pass those values on to my own children. Who knows? Maybe his interest has come from him growing up in within the city limits (because regardless of what he may say..I do think I have spent way more time behind the tobacco setter than he has, but I'm sure he has me beat on the time spent fishing or hunting) and together we haven't lost our respect for the outdoors so that our boys could have the opportunity, somehow between the two of us, to pass it on to their children. As I sat on the bank and took pictures I surprisingly felt a little sad that our parent's farm probably won't be around forever...I mean let's face it...the up keep of the place alone would be a full time job, and although my parents kept up a farm and full time jobs, times just aren't the same. I mentioned it to Garett and he said, "Daran (my brother) will keep things going." but honestly I had the emotions that suggested we better soak it all up while we can because everything changes. I wonder if my parents ever looked at their experiences like that and as a result decided what was most important to pass on to my brother and sister and I? Was it that clear of a decision or just how it happened? Not sure, but it kind of hit me like that this weekend and I now have a good list started of things I'm going to make a priority to "pass on".