We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Lately I've been contemplating the differences between how Emma, Willa, and I grew up and how Seth, Elsie, and Josiah will. We three older children "grew up" (granted, Willa is still only 12) in a quaint little neighborhood with quaint chain-link fences and quaint grocery stores and McDonalds just blocks away. When we weren't playing on the computer, watching TV, cleaning the house, or talking on the phone, we were playing with public-schooled friends in our quaint tree house. On TV, we watched home improvement shows, Arthur, and Zoom. We sang Aaron Carter and Point of Grace as we danced on living room furniture.

The younger three are growing up on a large piece of property with long stretches of horse fencing and a completely-country store 3 miles away, McDonald's 25 minutes away. When they aren't playing computer games, watching movies, or eating, they are playing make-believe galloping around the house or having rip-roaring adventures outside- playing in the dirt, racing across the yard, and roaming with sticks.When they watch movies, they watch "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". They sing "Oh you can't get a man with a gun" and "Goin' courtin', going courtin'" as they dress up in costumes.

Little things remind me- nearly daily- of the oh-so-different life we're now living. I absolutely love it with all my heart. The wholesomeness just cannot be compared to anything. There is never a lack of things to do.

Country living would be unbearable without the awesome community we have. What fun is keeping the grass mowed if you're not going to spend time playing soccer with friends on it? Besides the beautiful landscape, it wouldn't be much fun going on a walk if you didn't run into a friend or two and chat. Living 20 minutes from town, I think we'd be lonely out here if people didn't drop by as often as they do.

My siblings are going to have a totally different perspective on life from mine. They're going to think that pulling chickens out of truck engines is normal, every day stuff.

 They're going to know how to drive before I was even allowed to use the push-mower. They're going to think spending most of the day outside is what you're supposed to do. Instead of planning shopping trips with her friends, Elsie is going to plan on going maple sugaring with her brothers and their friends. Instead of painting her fingernails daily when she's eight years old, she'll probably be picking dirt from under her fingernails during church.

 Now, granted, Elsie is still a major girly-girl and will never grow out of that, I hope. She walked up this morning with tulle on her head and declared she was getting married-- the biggest grin ever on her face.

 I'm glad girls have an innate sense of beauty and feminine instincts, because out here practicality could easily overshadow prettiness. But I don't think it ever will.

This week Elsie was riding with me in the truck. She was buckled into the passenger's seat {grandmother comforting here: the airbag is turned off and I wasn't going above 30 mph} with her head resting on the open window. She was making silly faces in the side mirror and was laughing at herself with such child-like joy.  Turning to me, she exclaimed, "I'm eating the wind, Olivia! See?" Her mouth was wide open and her tongue was hanging out the window.

I thought, "Wow. I wish when I was three I could have driven around with my tongue out the window (highway driving just doesn't work for that) on private roads where carseat laws don't apply."

Yesterday after church, Daniel gave me a ride home. I hopped in the passenger's seat and looked over at the console- instead of seeing a Starbucks cup or an iPod, I saw tractor parts and two chicken eggs. "Wow," I thunked to myself, "I know keeping eggs like that is kind of unusual, but my younger siblings probably won't think twice about it when they're older and bouncing about the neighborhood in pick-up trucks." {Or duct-taped Suburbans ;)}

That kind of rocks, in my humble opinion.

I'm thankful Willa is still growing up and is getting into this type of life faster than I am.  She's toughening faster than any of us thought possible.

 Willa, our little "please-don't-talk-about-anything-remotely-gross-or-associated-with-anything-gross-or-I'll-lose-my-appetite" girl surprises us. The other day she came home from a friend's with stories of how they cleaned up road-kill.

*blink*

We were kind of impressed, too. 

My younger siblings are already farther along in their country-suitedness than I am. And I'm so glad... because I kind of stink at it still. :}

Josiah is, well, addicted to the outdoors. It is impossible to keep him inside. So lately he's been learning to drive the lawn mower with Emma. He just adores motorized things and dirt. Man does that kid love dirt.

Only problem is that he falls asleep when he's mowing. Guess we can't quite let him do it by himself yet.

I'm kind of excited for them. I love the "head start" they're getting. I love that their childhood is being spent in such a way that is "preparing" them for life ahead... and yet is still a childhood. I'm thankful I'm still young, too. I'm not yet an old dog who can't learn new tricks. By God's grace, I'll continue to embrace what I once thought was so "not me."