A Little Letter to Someone Special
On October 5, 2023 by MaryDear Grandpa Carl,
Homesteading has been pretty rough this summer. Some days I question why your grandson and I are trying to make a life out of farming. When I get frustrated, I can hear you in my head matter-of-factly saying, “That’s farming.”
Over the past couple months I’ve recalled so many of your stories about raising pigs. When I was in the barn trying to help Karen, I wondered what advice you might have in that situation. I wish I could’ve called you right then, in the middle of the night, to have you talk me through it.
I think about you every time I plant tomatoes. So many relatives have told me about your incredible greenhouses full of thriving tomato plants. I wish I’d gotten to see them in all their glory, and learned some tricks of the trade. I clearly don’t have the magic touch. Maybe I’ll figure it out someday, though.
I thought of you a lot while pregnant/postpartum with our last baby. Each time I was pregnant, feeling sick, huge, and uncomfortable, you’d give me a hug and tell me that pregnant mamas were one of the most beautiful things in the whole world. And while everyone else was swooning over the baby, you were always the one to ask how I was doing.
Since becoming part of your family 14 years ago, I only heard a fraction of the stories you had to tell. I wish I’d written down more of the ones I did hear, so I could remember them better.
Thank you for being a grandfather to me when mine had already passed away. You filled a space in my heart I didn’t know needed filling. Calling you “grandpa” came so naturally, and I’m forever grateful for all the times we had together.
I wish you could have gotten to see our little homestead here in Tennessee, and I hope the work Calvin and I are doing would make you proud.
I miss you.
Love,
Mary
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Legend. Wish I could have met him, Mar.
He would be so proud! He would have called to tell you so. He didn’t call much. Only when it was important. He would have totally called you to tell you what a good job you did with Karen.
We had over a dozen sows when I was rasing them with your grandfather back in the 80s and then I had 8 when I did it 15 years ago. I learned a lot from my father and I’ll pass on what I can remember. (I may have to raise pigs again to get my brain back in the game, it’s been a while). You’re just scratching the surface of lows that go with raising animals and farming in general but for us the highsore than out way them. Watching the piglets that did make it grow and get fat is a satisfaction that a lot of normal (not farmers) people don’t understand.
I don’t know if Gpa Carl ever told you this but if you’re ever questioning yourself and your decisions remember this “if you enjoy just sitting on a bale of hay and watching your animals eat, it means you’re a farmer”. He’d be proud of you, keep it up.