Down on the Farm

We are very lucky in that Chris's sister and her family live on a small farm just under an hour away from us. She has lots of animals and rears her own pigs and chickens as well as growing her own veg. They also have horses, dogs, cats, doves, fish and a rabbit. Alex just loves it there as there is plenty of land to run around on, his older cousins to play with and lots of animals to visit. They live in a farmhouse perched on a hill in Suffolk with sweeping views from all sides. I love visiting there because it's really my dream to live somewhere like that and this way I get to do it for an afternoon here and there. We also some great chats about homegrown food and raising children and cooking. She is a fabulous cook - we had her hand reared pork at the weekend with home grown veg and home baked bread and butter pudding. The meat was delicious and all the better for having been humanely reared and despatched as all meat really should be.

I am so glad Alex has a chance to grow up near to his cousins and our extended family and to be able to experience a farm based lifestyle at first hand. I want him to learn where our food comes from and how important it is. I want him to learn about animal welfare and to be engaged with animals rather than scared of them (he's not but I know a lot of kids that are). I want him to learn responsibility through caring for animals and the land around us. I think these basic and natural lessons engage the child and teach them a lot about life and the world around them but in a way that interests them and that has meaning for them. Especially at this young age when I really feel that practical learning is far more important than classroom learning (but that's just my opinion!).

I am troubled whenever I read about the problems with today's society where everything seems to be about furnishing the economy and not about the people or our community. I worry terribly about our unhappy and old-before-their-time children (especially the way everything is about a shallow culture of looks and possessions). I have my doubts about the school system and the effect of peer pressure on my kids. It was bad enough it my day but I think it is far worse now. The more I think about it all the more I want to run away to the hills and bring my kids up on a self sufficient smallholding miles away from anywhere. I don't want them to grow up in the electronic age I want them to be wild and free and outside. I want them to be muddy and rosy cheeked and adventurous and at the same time independent, responsible, kind and educated. I believe it is possible to raise your kids that way and I know that the blogs I enjoy reading the most have a similar ethos. I just hope that financial pressures don't mean that we can never achieve this kind of lifestyle for our kids. All it would take right now to start would be a bigger garden and for me to continue working part time if possible - if not give up all together. Some say I have an overly romantic or nostalgic idea of life but I think we should aspire to live a certain way and not just settle for the norm just because it suits everyone else.