Friday, July 10, 2009

A Grateful Thanks!


When we were young, we always have a garden in our own rice field. Both our parents are very interested in planting and growing some crops and rice. Most of our weekends are spent in the ricefield- playing, helping our parents and enjoying the fresh wind. Our property is not that big but my Dad makes it a point that there’s no vacant lot. We had a variety of veggies along side the rice farm. While we were never able to sustain ourselves with what we grew, the care and the amount of cultivation of our produce taught us to be patient.

I remembered the long day of Saturday was only spent for harvesting the rice. We are not technically-advanced then. We did everything manually except the threshing part. The long summer of watering and weeding taught us that delayed gratification is the sweetest fruit. Even the pests and bugs who sometimes stole the vegetables had a lesson to teach us on how to share. Learning how things grew- helped me understand and able to appreciate the wonder of our Mother Nature.

At young age, I was able to learn that there is no such thing as easy success. There is no such thing as money that grows in trees. As what my Mom kept reminding me that “there is no impossible under the heat of the sun”. I have learned to stand on my own feet and value money the more. Maybe my parents didn’t realize the very impact of the labor we did in the rice fields. It was a very humbling experience and I’m very proud of myself to have experienced that very basic notion of being a gardener. As a gardener, the harvest of a life enriched in abundance of patience, humility, kindness and compassion was worth every sweat.
Shawie

2 Grateful Heart's Words:

""rarejonRez"" said...

Hmmm... I grew up as a farmer's daughter as well. My hubby is the same. We could talk endless farming experiences that we had back then and we could brag at each other how bounty my father's harvests were. Imagine him bragging the same thing, too. I think farming in Philippines is way different that here. Living here in Illinois with vast cornfields and soybeans made us relate to our Philippine living. Pero makita jud kung unsa ka-advanced sila diri oi. Grabe ka-manual sa atoa Sha. Kaagi pud ko pananum ug humay, from sabud, ibot, tanum, them limpyo sa basakan w/ those dreaded linta (yikes and super ewwwww), tapos ani dayon. Mangbugaw pud mi maya ug uban pa nga mga langgam. Hahaha. Pananum ug mais, kaagi japon ko kay maisan man ug humayan amo uma. Hmm... like you, I looked back at the past with humbling heart and much value at the success that we feel we hae reached so far.

I am even so proud of my husband the most. He is now a Ph.D. in Mathematics holder and yet, he's always proud to tell the world that he is best at farming, esp. manually plowing the field using his kabaw or baka or kabayo. Hahaha!

So much wonderful experiences to reminsce. Kapoy kaayo ang kinabuhi sauna oi, pero lami balikon ug handum. (Drama!) LOL

Mhar's Display said...

I am very proud of farmers. I am from a family of farmers-my grandparents, mother and father are farmers. I remember when I was a little girl, I used go to my father's tomato field and get some tomato fruits then eat them on my way home :) Simple hard farming life but happy.

Mharms