"Mud, flood, blossoms, and babies signal the arrival of spring..." is an excellent way to anticipate and welcome the start of every gardener's favorite season.
Quote and info adapted from one of my favorite sources, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner: What To Do & When To Do It by Ann Larkin Hansen.
Empty boxes, stacked across the kitchen floor, are strewn with blankets and towels, and I believe one of my sweaters. They are filled with candy and gold painted rocks intended to deceivingly trap an unknowing leprechaun.
The disappointed look on my son's face in the morning when he discovers that the leprechaun has not wreaked havoc in the house to his expectation instantly tells me I have once again failed at bringing mythical creatures to life in the house.
My daughter who lost her tooth in the morning before dashing out to the bus, inserts newly excavated tooth into a sandwich baggy and deposits it somewhere in the kitchen. The following morning she remarks how the tooth fairy never came and brought her cash.
We must not have left her a note. We must not have placed the tooth under your pillow. She must be running low on cash! The plethora of reasons for the pathetic excuse of a fairy that she is, come spilling out of my mouth at rapid speed. An immediate plan for the next night is quickly put into place.
And who doesn't know the magical morning moments of realization that nobody moved the Elf to his new household lodging and then is faced with two options: sneak around the house like a stealthy ninja warrior performing acrobatics or spin a believable tale of bad snowstorms at the North Pole, of dirty room reporting, and thanks to 2020, in need of quarantine time!
We as parents need to ask ourselves, why? Why do we see the story books and stuffed creatures and somehow believe that starting cute little traditions will provide joyful memories and never-ending adventures!
What about the family's favorite aunt who surprises everyone at the holidays with a friend, pet, or outfit change for our magical or mythical creature?!
Aren't we as parents supposed to stick together and support one another? Time to take back our homes and stop encouraging the propaganda and riotous shenanigans of mythical creatures in the wee hours of the night.
Time for fully rested nights of sleep - free of panic and fear of failure and forgetfulness! Band of parents - unite!
While the fashion world may not address the various styles that are seen on the farm, we farm girls know that we have a variety of shoes, boots, undergarments, pants, shirts, belts, hats, gloves, and scarves within our closets.
When choosing the perfect outfit(s) for the day on the farm, we not only need to consider how we look, of course, we need to consider biosecurity measures when dealing with various animals, the time of year and weather, the chores and tasks at hand, and the insurmountable laundry pile we will inevitably face at the end of the week.
The Shacket - a combination of the words shirt and jacket - is a hybrid crossover, oversized, flannel (sometimes with a hoodie) pop-culture, trendy take on a modern classic overgarment. Some confusion arises as to whether it derives from a late 20th century grunge era style or a long-time farm-girl's midwinter milking attire.
Picture courtesy of Amazon. This is how I like to THINK I look when I'm headed out to the coop and garden and barn; adorned in a trendy shacket and slick pair of jeans and pretty nails and hair.
However, this is often more on par for how I ACTUALLY look.
