Memories

One thing I really love about living in Michigan is the distinct changing of seasons. Fall is one of my favorite seasons for many reasons, but especially because of the beautiful colors, harvest, sunflowers, and of course, apple season. Yum.

When I was growing up, we did not have a lot of money. My dad worked many LONG, hard days to provide for our rather large family. My mom was then responsible for five busy children, and trying to maintain a clean home (somehow she did a much better job than I do now... hmm....).

Well, each fall meant the return to school, but also harvest season. We had a large garden - I wish I had pictures of it at its largest... it was a lot of work maintaining it. Every year we snipped green beans, made applesauce, picked potatoes, and the most work of all: canning tomatoes.

We hated canning tomatoes. Oh my, we would can large amounts every year. We would stay up late, with shriveled fingers, peeling the skin off of warm tomatoes, cutting them up and putting them in mason jars. Over and over and over again. We'd think we were done, and my dad would bring in several more bags.

My mom often says that we had a garden out of necessity. Feeding seven people is quite an expensive task, especially when you are living on one small income. Sometimes I think she's embarrassed by our meager upbringing, but I'm so grateful for it.

There is something very special about all of us sitting around the kitchen table, taking part in preserving the food that we grew on our own. As a child, I just thought it was neat to play with the bugs and dirt in the garden. Now, it was an experience not many people my age have of preserving the food for the winter, and knowing where my food came from.

Now we are renting, and don't have a garden. That's why I'm so thankful for farmer's markets. Though I don't garden (yet), we can preserve our food by freezing and canning, and enjoy it all year round... even in the dead cold of winter. We've done some preserving, and there's more I want to do - for ourselves, but also for E, who will hopefully have a special appreciation for this useful skill in such an uncertain world.