You are Not what you Drive, but You are what you Eat

My husband and I raised and home schooled four rowdy boys and our 5th child was a girl. Dare we say there is nary a thing that scares her? Seriously. Is there anything more frightful than four older brothers? She can hold her own to be sure. All their lives they heard the title of this blog; You are Not what you Drive, but you are what you eat. Our sons are car dudes. We introduced them to two pastimes, cars and fishing, for very specific reasons. Fishing is an important skill every boy should have (though one never tells them that). They loved attaching the squirming worms to the hooks and flinging them through the air to a delightful kerplunk into the water, only to be eaten alive! Ahhh! Boys are so easy to entertain!

We introduced them to fishing.

Cars were the next purposeful passion introduced to them near driving age because cars cannot get pregnant! Many Friday nights were spent working on cars. These passions have served them very well. They are now what we call “black-belt” fisherman. Their families will never go hungry. In addition, they have saved thousands of dollars on vehicles, as they are all accomplished mechanics. Their sister has benefited as well. Guys love that she can fish and knows cars!

Our lifestyle was simple and still is.

Anyway, back to the point. Our lifestyle was simple, and still is. We started our family over 34 years ago on one income, and still live on one income. We ate all summer from our garden or grandparent’s garden. We enjoyed food we had canned and preserved through the long winter months. Many evenings at the supper table our kids heard the origin of the meal spread before us. Bread and jam were homemade in our kitchen, green beans and beets from Grandad’s garden. The beef, pork or lamb had been purchased from our friends who raised them on their farms. It was good eating. “Your Mom is not happy unless she is feeding something”, our kids have heard forever. Be it kid, cat, dog, chickens, horse, cow, or birds, it is a true statement.

We ate our of our garden or Granddad’s.

Cars brought a different view to the landscape of life as the kids grew older. Somehow they got the misguided notion that they were what they drove! Hmmm, how did that get into their 16-year-old minds? Yes, sports cars are fast and Dodge Rams are tough, and excellent advertising touts they make us who we are. Wrong. They are a necessary useful tool and a huge money pit. Try telling that to four boys!

Actually bikes pre-dated cars. ‘Hmmm, how do I fix this issue’, says Gordon.

Because space and money were limited, old beaters were the wheels of choice. There were times our yard and driveway looked like a junkyard. Those days have all too quickly faded into memory now.

We still eat out of our garden, we now raise our own beef (see our previous blogs), and now we are enjoying our grandkids. Life has traveled full circle and it is good. Food is one of the wonders and joys of life. Knowing how to manage, prepare, preserve, and serve food to one’s family is a privilege. Not to mention a sense of security. We are okay if the lights go out.