Wednesday, September 9, 2009

I Aint No Laura Ingalls

The reality is that I am again a stay at home mom.  The odd thing about that statement is that I no longer have children to stay at home with.  They go off to school each day in a frenzy of what to wear, were the chickens fed, scriptures read, cereal put away, lunches packed, homework gathered and a last minute check to see if it is P.E. or library today.  Then in a matter of seconds the whirlwind passes and I am left in a very quiet house, with a to do list I don’t even want to look at let alone tackle. 

Today I was, however, forced to face the wagon of apples on the porch now, or try to figure out a way to dispose of rotting apples tomorrow.  I gathered my canning kettle and my apple master peeler and got to work.  That was 3 hours ago and I am still waiting for the water to boil after stirring a nauseating amount of apples (that cooked down to nearly nothing) for what seemed like hours.  I have to ask myself, “Is it worth it?”  It’s not like I’m Laura Ingalls (the older, married to Manly Laura, not Half Pint little Laura riding Bunny).  I have a Safeway down the road.    I have personally seen an entire section of applesauce there.  It comes in a variety of flavors even.  And despite last winter I have 4 wheel drive and the ability and money to buy groceries anytime I want. Do my kids appreciate this more?  Does this make me a better mom than the ones who buy their applesauce in little cups ready packed for lunches? I don’t think so.

I have learned a few things this morning.  I will list them for you:

  1. you can burn applesauce
  2. water takes a long time to boil
  3. peeling apples makes your hands pruney
  4. you can cut yourself with an apple master 200
  5. Laura Ingalls I aint

I think these lessons might be worth the time and effort even if the applesauce isn’t.

1 comment:

Ali said...

There's nothing better than homemade applesauce!
I say that but I'm not sure I would think it was worth the energy if I did it myself.