The morning sun simply peeks over the horizon while I walk to the meadow, stainless steel milk bucket in one hand and a cup of cooling coffee in the other. The family milk cow, Brenda, wait patiently for me at the gate, chews lazy on her cud and keeps rhythm to an unknown cow tune with her waving tail. This time I only enjoy in the morning, only me and the cow and the early sounds of the meadow and the forest around us. The routine is so well -known for both of us that when the music of the milk that comes in fills the morning air, Brenda’s long struck eyes start to close satisfaction and my mind starts to wander while the foam starts to rise in the bucket.
This is a well -known scene in my life, and it brings me comfort. I am grateful that I grew up in the old -fashioned tradition of the old order Mennonites and learned from my parents how they can milk the family cow in ten years old. As an adult and as a parent, I understand how the responsibility to bring milk to the house every morning before breakfast is a gift that continues to give for generations. Such chores were my character. Today I have the self -discipline to get up early to take two cows only on a Sunday morning and still bring the family to church on time with the help of my husband. The responsibility has introduced me to know that true satisfaction is not found in serving yourself, but rather when serving others. And my parents showed trust in me by entrusting tasks of increasing importance to my care.
Fortunately I continued to find peace in the routines that bring the necessary tasks into my life. When I go from the early morning and experience the loneliness and serenity of our home, gratitude in my heart swells. My mind is calmed down by the required actions that became second nature long ago. I know that I am part of what is about it – the health of my family, the survival of our home, the well -being of our animals and the care of God’s creation.
In the beginning my husband and I were not sure if we would have all the animals we do now. At the age of twenty -seven, after six years of marriage and two babies, we both became stronger in our faith and we leaned for everything in Jesus. We were less digested with filling our lives with things, experiences and wealth and much more focused on bringing value to the lives of the people around us. As our family grew, our focus and clarity did that too. The desire to teach work ethics and strong values in the next generation was the basis on which we built our home. We didn’t go on the way with the mentality of “Let’s raise all our own food.” To be honest, we were too poor to even think about hiring more mouths to feed. . . Including animal mouths! But our slow process of adding every animal was motivated by our desire to introduce some amazing character qualities in our then small family.
To this day, milking the family cow and the optimal use of what she offers us is an area of family management that I am particularly proud of. I hope to pass on these skills and potential peace of the homesteadroutines to my children, even if they are convinced, just as I was at their age, that having a cow for breakfast the absolute worst job that a parent could ask for a child.
It’s about more than milk
The possession of a family cow or two has become about so much more than fresh raw milk for our own family. In the beginning, with our first family cakoever, it was only about the milk. But I quickly realized that if we had children to raise, we should have a family milk cow. The family cake, God bless her soul, requires consistency of the whole family. This star of the farm requires a routine in our lives where my impulsive and scattered soul craves. She brings a consistency for my upbringing that the family needs. Of course they don’t know, but it’s the truth.
When life gets busy and our routines are confused, there is at least one point, sometimes two, when everyone knows exactly what he can expect. Milk time! The chores around the family cow are shoulders like a famous yoke that fits just right. A yoke that has been worn so often that all pressure points are worn out and it feels more like a welcome and comfortable routine than a burden. The fact that the cow has to be milked, regardless of how miserable we feel, how unfriendly the weather, or how much nagging happens, not only learned our children to have a lot of endurance, but has even taught me to have a larger self -discipline.
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Look behind the fence.
The heart of the homeThrough Ruthann Zimmermaninvites you to slow down, go downstairs, to focus quietly and listen carefully to the heartbeat of the home. Based on her Mennonite education, she offers simple stories, recipes and reflections on collaboration as a family, growing and storing food, finding gratitude for what you have and more.
Spend some time on the farm with the Zimmermans and enjoy a heart -warming look in the daily life of Ruthann’s as a homesteading mother of seven children. Read more about the book and how you can buy here.