Mother Comes For A Visit

Mother's Photograph

Photo Credit: George Eastman Collection

I have been a little worried about winter coming. Now that I am pregnant I need to make the work easier for me when I am alone. Avery wants one of his sisters to live with us during the winter. I am not sure that I want that. Not that I don't like his sisters. It is just that I do not know them very well and they are used to living in town. I do not think that life out here is the same for them as it is for me. Now if it was one of MY sisters, that would be a completely different story. Not bragging, but we all knew how to live through a tough winter by the time we were ten. I told Avery I can handle it okay as long as I provide for the winter before it comes. And it is coming.

Mother came to visit me with my sisters yesterday. We had a wonderful day. I took them out to the orchard and we had a picnic. Lorraine was having so much fun playing with my baby goats. She had never been around them before. Father has always kept cows for milk so we never had goats. Avery said his family had goats because they are small and easy to keep in town. Of course, Avery and I have both. I like the goat milk for making cheese but love my cow's milk and cream. Especially the cream.

We have a little spring house and I have it full already. The spring runs all year long. We are very fortunate. Most people have springs that dry up in the summer. The spring flows and keeps our perishable food cold. Sometimes the milk I pour for supper is ice cold. Just the way Avery likes it. I showed Mother and my sisters the spring house and they liked it. To them it was a modern convenience that they don't have. We always used our root cellar and even had a hole dug in the floor to try to keep dairy products cold. They were never this cold.

I know Mother was worried about me and that is why she came to see me. But my pregnancy is advancing just fine. I am not having morning sickness anymore. In fact, I like eating for two. Avery keeps teasing me about being fat. It doesn't bother me none. I know that he really is happy to be having our first child so soon. Some couples have trouble having their first baby. Then once they have the first one, they come one after the other pretty quickly.

After they left, I cleaned up a little bit and waited for Avery. He had a long freight run to make and had left early yesterday morning. Peanut has gotten used to sleeping with me when Avery is not here. He is a good listener but is getting big. I know he can be fierce when needed to be. I wiped off his feet before bringing him in the house. He had been in the creek with us earlier and gotten muddy. I set out some food for Avery as I was sure he would be hungry when he got in. I picked up my Bible to read while I waited eagerly for his return.

Copyright © 2010  Kathleen G. Lupole

Updated 2016