To most of the world we are considered at the retirement stage of life: Sit back, pick up your knitting needles, and enjoy doing very little.
The problem is that inactivity is neither healthy, nor fun, nor is it very productive. Yes, knitting may be a useful way to spend an evening, and the grandchildren will enjoy the socks or sweater, but is it enough?
For us, even though my husband has just gone through a major health crisis, being couped up in the house (trailer) is losing its charm. Even the joy having the grandchildren over for breakfast and homeschooling does not completely quiet the restlessness in our souls.
Our grandchildren need a place to visit to run and be free. They need a place to interact with more of God's wonderful creation. They need to feel a part of a team effort to see the land bring forth in abundance. And personally, I think their grandparents need it, too.
My husband and I are looking at buying a piece of property in the country. We took our grandchildren with us when we went to see it. They were enthralled. "You've just got to buy this!" is what I heard several times that day.
I find I want to be the old stereo type grandma that my grandchildren can spend time with on the farm. I want my grandchildren to be able to feed some chickens, cuddle a bunny, and maybe even milk a lamb.
I want them to pick some beans and try their hand at selling produce at the farmer's market. I believe they would be good at it. And maybe some day I could even help them start a small farm based business from Grandpa's and Grandma's farm.
Why do I want all this for my grandchildren?
I believe that raising food is going to be an important skill to have in the next decade. Our food supply is being changed from what God created, and is now mainly man modified distortions. It is getting harder and harder to find real food.
Somebody has to take on the responsibility of keeping seed and livestock going after its kind, and yet very few of our grandchildren are being taught the basics of farming. Most children have no knowledge of how to be self sufficient. Great Grandpas and Great Grandmas have sold their farms and moved into little apartments or trailers, or even big houses in town, and this generation of kids has never been privileged to spend a summer on the farm.
So, this grandpa and grandma are in the process of trying to rectify that problem, at least for our own grandchildren. We look forward, Lord willing, to being old fashioned, hard working, living off the land, farming grandparents again.
