Empty Nester

It’s quiet in the farm house. Dishes are starting to pile up in the sink and the dining room table is slowly being swallowed by paperwork, water bottles and coffee mugs. I have my house to myself and the lazy bachelor habits are creeping back in.

Two weeks ago it was a different story. Alex, the farm volunteer from Northern Virginia, was living with me.

They all get the same set of rules. Clean up after yourself. No noise after ten. Make yourself at home but be ready to work when it’s time to work.

I pride myself on leading by example so, for the time being, the rules apply to me as well.

Alex was compliant. A newly minted William & Mary grad, he knew how to handle himself. Still, the first few days he tiptoed around as if he’d just moved in with his mother.

Jay, a 30-something from DC, joined our small ‘farm tribe’ mid-week. Alex relaxed.

We fell into an easy routine. After a long day of work, Jay cooked. We all ate. I cleaned.

Alex and Jay talked music, dating aps, food. They both asked probing questions about farming and farm life. By Sunday, when Alex returned to his real life, he’d given me much more than the promised 40 volunteer hours of work. I wished he could stay longer.

Monday evening, Ashley from Ohio arrived. She was nervous. She didn’t travel much, she told Jay and me. Never been on a plane before. Ashley was a vegetarian but didn’t know anything about vegetables. On Tuesday she worked a half day harvesting flowers. Wednesday morning she was sick and asked to go home. Ashley from Ohio was gone.

A few hours later the work crew from the Eastern Shore pulled in. The four men would build the high tunnel in four days, camping in the side yard all the while. Jay thoughtfully mowed the lawn and moved the picnic table into their ‘camp sight’.

Our nightly routine morphed into a quick meal after work before leaving the house so each man could come in and take a shower. The next morning a round-robin of teeth-brushers would file through the front door, Doug barking in confusion at each one of them.

Jay, forever clever and resourceful, got a ride back to DC the following week in a Garner’s Produce truck. He hitched the ride into Penn Quarter, helped the ladies unload and sell their produce. By evening he too returned to real life.

My real life continues. It’s a life that I’m blessed to share with others. And, although I’m a loner at heart, I miss those guys. I miss evenings with Alex and Jay. I miss wishing Blaine and his crew a good morning. I don’t miss Ashley but I do hope she figures a few things out and tries again (at someone else’s farm).

I look forward to next year’s volunteers but in the meantime I’m breaking all the rules.

As always, thanks for stopping by,

Carolyn

#FarmLife