I'm a little (or a lot) like the mouse who got a cookie, who then wanted some milk, and then a napkin, and then decided to trim his mustache, and then.... In other words, my mind tends to wander, which is exactly what happened a while back when I saw several posts on Facebook showing farmers leaving home headed for Nebraska pulling a trailer loaded with hay.
My first thought was to feel proud. As a retired farm gal, it makes me proud (but not surprised) to see the farm community helping each other. Those thoughts then led to a whole brain-full of memories of hauling hay; the work, the fun, the heat, the coolness that came after dark, and the late-night meals eaten in relief and satisfaction that the hay was dry and in the barn. And then those thoughts led me to think about the fact that my family is as flaky as a bale of hay.
You heard me--we're flaky like hay.
For those of you who have been up-close-and-personal with a bale of hay, you might be able to figure out where I'm going with this. But for those of you who haven't let me explain....
Bales of hay (they're really rectangles, but we call them square bales) consist of 18-20 sections of hay that are tied together to form the bale. These sections are called 'flakes'. Don't ask me why. They just are (unless you live in Europe, where I think they call them 'biscuits').
Anyway...as long as the bale is tied together, it looks like one nicely-shaped clump of dried grass. But as soon as you cut the strings or wires holding it together, the flakes start spreading apart from each other. More accurately, the ones on the ends pull away, but the center stays put--just like our family.
From the time my kids were born until they decided it was time to strike out on their own, we were held together by faith, love, God's grace, wisdom (I hope), hard work, and the joy John and I had in being their parents. But then when they got to that stage in life when they were ready to grow up (it's a process, as we all know), we had to cut those strings and let them pull away to live their own life. And so they did, until just the center (John and I) was left.
All four of our kids have 'flaked off' into different directions--and I mean that in a good way. But just like every parent, my hope is that they never forget who and what they were originally tied to--who and what they came from. And also like every parent, I hope that those feelings of being tied together are ones that give them a sense of belonging and the security of knowing they are forever loved and will always have a place where they belong.
So here's my question: What are you doing to make sure your kids (young or old) know that no matter what direction life takes them, they'll always have a safe and loving place to come home to--a place where they will always be loved and belong?
So here's my question: What are you doing to make sure your kids (young or old) know that no matter what direction life takes them, they'll always have a safe and loving place to come home to--a place where they will always be loved and belong?
Love,
Momma D
Copyright 2019 Darla Noble. No part of this can be used or copied without permission from the author.
