After driving over three miles on a dirt road through corn fields we finally arrived at the main house. There we found various family members, neighbors, and friends who had set aside their entire day to cut, boil, husk, core, and bag corn. Some were on their third day doing it.
In one day we bagged 56 gallons of sweet corn. Not too shabby if you ask me.
Here are a few of my take aways from the experience:
1. Farming is hard. I've always known this of course, my dad is the guy who worked multiple jobs while helping out on the farm and going to school (to which he actually did walk three miles) and just being a kid. I know that you start at sunrise and don't finish until the job is finished, which during planting and harvest isn't until the season is over. I know that vacations are few and far between because your life is tied to a land and animals that need tending. But actually experiencing the smallest tidbit of what farm life is really like was really humbling. Those of us from the "big cities" really can't understand what it is like to have your entire livelihood dependent upon weather patterns. We forget that each glass of milk or bite of bread is the result of hundreds of hours of sweat inducing, back breaking work.
2. I love the sense of community that I experienced. Of all the people that were working that day, I was the only newbie. Every year friends, neighbors and family members get together and work on corn- for free. It was a lot of fun too. Young and old all put work into the project, and everyone worked alongside each other. We laughed and talked and told stories. It was great.
3. They gave it all away. Heidi's family used their own land, planted and organically grew the crop, and then freely let everyone take as much as they wanted. When I asked Heidi about it, she was surprised that I was surprised. "That's just what you do," she replied. Well then. I guess I have a few things to learn about generosity.
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