Some dear friends and I recently got to talking about the problems of small families and living in suburbia.
First, one lady wondered if the fact that most families are small nowadays made relationships more difficult. Instead of several siblings to chose from for various games, activities, and confidences, children now usually have only one or two siblings. They don't have to learn to share on such a large scale, etc.
Then I added that perhaps even more damaging is the lack of substantive work for children to do in the family. My family is getting a little tired of me saying, "If we lived on a farm...," but I think how different our lives would be if we had a small farm. Our twelve-year-old son would have something substantive to occupy his brain, muscles, and hours. In addition, it would be IMPORTANT to the good of the family. There seems to be something wrong about living in suburbia, with Dad driving off to work every day. Even if Mom and the kids are home schooling, there are a lack of meaningful tasks for children, especially boys, to contribute to the well-being of the family.
A blogger from Pennsylvania recently wrote a post about the PBS series "Frontier House" (now out on DVD) which he and his family had viewed. Upon finishing the series, he wrote the following:
I asked my sons, why do you think these children would rather have been back on the frontier where it was all such hard work? My youngest replied, "Because they knew they were needed." They knew they were needed! Children don't need all the latest toys or video games. They need to know that they are needed (and I would say "loved" as well).
This is one of the things that draws me to agrarianism. The desire to be able to raise my boys in an environment where each is a contributing member of the family, where they can see that they are making a difference, that they are needed, that they are wanted.
I say a hearty "Amen" to this family, and I pray they are able to lead the agrarian lifestyle they so desire.
2 comments:
from your comment at Homesteader Life ...
I’ve got a question for you ...
Do ... any ... readers have any wisdom???
Salatin says that at the age y'all are that it is good to hook up with someone in the younger generation. Your kids fit the right definition & age for that requirement. Just coming into their strength, but enough years still at home to get some things going.
Advice: start doing what you can. If you can't raise animals where you are, you can probably start gardening. You can also start doing some of the indoor things you might do in a rural setting. E.g. bread baking, soap making, if you have a source of raw milk, then perhaps cheese, butter & yogurt making.
Depending on the exact restrictions created by your husband's job, you might move to a rural place that is within a driving distance of the city. (Pastor McConnell's Rayville is such a place.)
I guess that what I would say, based on my opinion that both theologically, and evidentially, I have reason to think that our pagan nation is about to see the yogurt hit the fan, is: don't wait. Be forcefully pressing into these dreams; things of value are worth 'violently' pursuing (Matt. 11:12).
And though I haven't stated it to this point: work within your husband's framework. If he is gung ho, you can be too. If he isn't, make sure that as you pursue the dream, you are not taking paths and steps that conflict with his will.
God bless you. And make he make every work motivated by your faith to prosper!
Your 'cousin'
Hi, 'cousin!'
Thank you so very much for the wisdom and sound advice.
As I've been mulling this over lately, I'd have to agree that the husband's vision is the key. I see many things I could be doing now, where we currently live, that would at least set the groundwork for our children to enter an agrarian lifestyle later.
Although I think it's harder to be 'in the world, but not of the world' in the suburbs/city, there are ways to detach from that which is not edifying.
And lastly, when I think of various obstacles I am reminded of the disciple in Matthew 8 who wanted to bury his father before he followed Jesus. In verse 22, Jesus says to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." Aside from a husband's wishes, I see this as a call to be faithful and obedient regardless of any obstacles that appear to be noble or of ultimate importance.
Praying that the yogurt doesn't hit the fan before our family is prepared...
Deb
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