In Which Mrs. Brown is Resurrected In Obscurity

It has been some years since Mrs. Brown has made an appearance here. Fear not. It is not that Mrs. Brown has not been thriving, only that she has been living in obscurity.

A lot has come and gone since Mrs. Brown's last appearance. The little Brown boys have grown into strapping young men, taller than their mother. Baby Brown is no longer a baby, in fact, a lively grade one boy. Mrs. Brown herself has aged and sagged and blossomed into a ripe age of forty. Mr. Brown is the only one who appears much the same as the bygone years with only a sprinkling of grey in his hair and beard.

Mrs. Brown has many days worthy of 'Mrs. Brown Stories'. The only problem is a chance to record them. Like most forty-year-old mothers, Mrs. Brown has found that her once busy, lively life has morphed into a rendition of everything turned up to the speed of time and a half. The days fly by. What she once thought was busy now appears in memory as only a snail-paced leisurely stroll.

If Mrs. Brown thought babies up all night was something, she can now listen for her sons to get home from youth long after she's in bed. If she thought rousting grade five boys out of bed and making sure they brushed their teeth was a good workout, she can now wake to the smell of coffee made at five am when one son leaves for work or listen for footsteps when another son arrives home off the combine at two am. If Mrs. Brown thought being youth-leaders with toddlers was challenging, well, she was right. It was. But with older boys and one preschooler she managed six months of school board duties and Villa board duties, simultaneously.

There are myriad problems with the whole concept of stories about teenage boys; teenage boys do not care to be part of stories, Mrs. Brown or not. Teenage boys need a lot of privacy and respect.

And here we shall part again with Mrs. Brown, hoping to meet once again, soon, even in obscurity.

Harvest

Harvest

Harvest has come and gone once again. Snow covers our deck but the green grass still peeps through. This year was our first year being involved with actual farm land harvesting. Colby is working for Jason Regehr, running grain cart and other assorted jobs. Pat ended up helping Jason out. And Zach even did a couple weeks of grain cart when they got another combine. We’ve run crazy hours and sleepless nights. It’s good to have the combining done and the rush over.

Harvest and fall have always made me feel nostalgic and sad. Summer is over. The warm days are gone. I can hardly love the long fall days well enough just because I know winter is around the corner. Which is kind of odd, considering I like winter.

I love the garden harvest days, when bowls of ripe tomatoes grace my entrance floor and peppers fill my fridge. I love the stacks of dusty onions and the sink rounded full of washed carrots. I love rows of newly dug potatoes and the stack of corn stalks off to the side of the garden where the cats play.

This year Pat used his tree spade that he made and moved another good bunch of trees from our large tree patch to their rightful spot, a neat row down the shop driveway. Talk about instant gratification.

One evening we all went over to Jason’s for supper with the harvest crew and a large luscious harvest moon hung low on the horizon. One lone black tree spread its barren branches against the moon and dug its feet low down on the horizon.

Rows and rows of brightly colored jars line my pantry. Layers of dust accumulated over the summer need to be washed away. Half my windows are clean and shiny and the other half have spots and dust. Fall always brings me up short with the cleaning and I want to dig deep into the kitchen drawers with rags and water. My freezers are full to almost bursting with bags of sweet corn and large packages of raspberries and saskatoons.

My storage room has huge piles of camping gear that just needs to be put away and sorted and the winter tubs of clothes open and spilling out in the center of the room where the boys have dug frantically in their time of need. Empty jars are stacked all mish-mash, needing sorting as well.

It’s funny how fall can bring a flood of memories just by seeing last years tiny winter boots and the toys and trappings of yesterday's little boys turned men. It’s just life, this time of endings and changes. And there’s so much to be grateful for in these best days of harvest.

Harvest

Heads of wheat with a golden crown

Large round bales of palest brown

Lawns of green and leaves that dance

Garden bare in large expanse

Harvest moon, a large round plate

Barren trees on horizon straight

Geese a-flying overhead

Sunset glimmers a scarlet thread

Bugling elk sound echoing

Moving cattle bellowing

Empty pastures, empty nests

Hoes and wheelbarrows laid to rest

Harvest time has come and gone

Snow resplendent in morning dawn

Ah, the winter days are mine

Goodbye, goodbye sweet summertime

In Which Life Happens

I went to Grandma Lily's funeral on Friday in Saskatoon. Grandma Lily is Arlen & Jodi's foster boys Grandma (Brandon). She was 79 and the pastor of her church said she had been a believer of Jesus since 2004. They spoke of her thankfulness and happiness in times of sorrow and hardship. It was a blessing and a reproof to be at her funeral. I'm glad I got to know her and I'm glad I could go be with Arlens there.

I came straight to school on my way home from town. The teachers wanted to practice their skit for the school meeting this next week, so as many school board as possible tried to be there. That turned out good. I had bought a bunch of subs at Subway on my way home to feed my men supper and found out almost right away that Pat and Colby would be in the field and then Wyatt ended up going to Rennies. So I left a foot-long with the teachers for coffee break.

Then I headed to the Villa where I helped put on a bridal shower for Jessica Wohlgemuth. It turned out so pretty and fun. It was truly a pleasure to be part of it. And a lot of work. (Hiding my head in my hands.) I feel like a rather old lady at times. We set up lots of trees and greenery and strung light through the ceiling of the Villa basement. Then we set up many chairs in groups, kind of swagging between trees and it made for cozy visiting. Shani and Missy did 'toilet paper brides' which was a fun ice breaker. We did lots of cactus in terracotta pots and white taper candles and white tea lights in glass holders. We served veggies in tiny brown ribbed cups with a bit of dilly dip on the bottom, bruschetta and mini lime cheesecakes on footed glass cake plates. She got a heap of gifts and the whole thing was truly fun.

Then on Saturday Pat & I decided to go to Casper & Janalee's reception in Carrot River. Colby was working and Zach was with Karlos and Caleb. And Wyatt stayed at Pat's folks. So, just Pat & I went. Finally had some time to visit just us. It was glorious. We had about a four hour drive. We all of a sudden came upon the Bronco crash site. There were so many crosses. It makes the devastating loss feel real all over again. The reception was good. It was a pretty low-key affair at the Carrot River Community Hall. Brent met us at the door and told us right away that we had a place at the family table with them. We sure hadn't planned on that but it was fun to be with them all again and connect. Uncle Harold & Kathy were there, as well as Tannis and Tamara. Rona had made chokecherry pies especially for the family tables, so that was quite something to get in on. The youth sang. Wayne & Bonnie brought some good thoughts. And so did Lars & Shari. And then we ate a taco stack up meal with pies & icecream for dessert. I enjoyed meeting so many old friends and lovely people. And we drove back home yet when we were done. It was a late one but we're so glad we could go.

Today was literally a day of rest. We had toast and wheatlets porridge for dinner. Truly, not my general fare. Colby got hungry in the afternoon for 'meat' he said. So he grilled a bunch of venison and ate it all himself. I got him to grill the fish I had thawed in the fridge, as well. I made Wyatt playdough today and read him lots of stories. Pat stayed home with him tonight while the boys and I went to council meeting. Then Colby went to Shane's to practice youth Christmas songs and Pat went to school meeting.

And this is only a few days.

How has your life been going?