The Generation Gap
I often take my son back to my little hometown of Breese in Illinois– or rather the outskirts, to the home my parents have lived in for 30 years.
I live in the suburbs of St. Louis now. The trip to my parents’ house last a little more than an hour. And while the first 50 minutes of the drive usually drag on, I do love the last 20 minutes. As I see rows of corn and soybean fields, I often find myself taking a deep, relaxing breath. The expanse of green, especially paired with a beautiful blue sky or contrasted with the darkness of the damp tree bark after a rain, is calming, yet uplifting And the amber wheat fields are especially striking when a wind whips through the land, causing a waving sensation.
In the spring, a pungent aroma sometimes wafts throughout the countryside. When my 7-year-old son complains of the smell? I can’t help but laugh.
“What is that disgusting smell, mom? YUCK.”
“Just cow poop. They fertilize the fields with it,” I say. “Take a big whiff. Its the smell your past.” I say this last part semi-joking. I remember as a kid complaining about the smell too.
Both sides of my family tree are filled with generations of German Catholic farmers who married and made babies with other German Catholic farmers. And at times it is difficult to know which of the qualities I posess have been bred into me and which ones are entirely my own. I love to garden, take care of animals and be outdoors. But so have many generations before me.
In contemplating this, I often think about how spoiled my son and I are in comparison. Whether you were out in the fields or inside taking care of the home and a gaggle of kids, the work was back breaking. The summer heat was miserable, the hours were long, medical care was reserved only for emergencies, vacations were non-existant and the financial difficulties were overwhelming - especially without an education. Neither of my grandfathers made it past sixth grade. And I doubt the generations before them made it any further.
I look in my rearview window, watching Seth stare out amongst the fields, listening to one of his favorite songs on my iPod. We live in a completely different world. Thanks to my hard-working hubbby, we live in a nice house and in a great neighborhood. We live in a world filled with playdates, disposable income, air-conditioning, satellite tv, wonderful schools, cell phones and opportunity. That boy has no idea how much better the quality of his life is compared to those who came before him. But I take him out here in hopes that someday he too will learn to appreciate the beauty as well as this piece of his heritage.
And I often wonder what my ancestors would think of mine and my son’s life in contrast to theirs. Hopefully, they’d feel I haven’t lost sight of what’s most important in this world. Hopefully they’d be happy. And proud.
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By Ree, August 20, 2009 @ 1:47 am
I wrote about something similar on Tuesday. And yet, you did it much more eloquently.
By flutter, August 20, 2009 @ 6:11 am
you are always so breathtaking
By Gregg, August 24, 2009 @ 1:26 am
I often think about this same thing - in particular when someone is whining about there supposed lack of SOMETHING.
I’m not saying it helps, but I do think about it.
I think one thing our ancestors would be most amazed at is the ease of travel. That one hour trip would have taken forever, not too long ago.
I just came back from China, myself, and it takes just about a day, all together. Amazing. Also, while there, I can easily just call home on the phone! Remember when a long-distance call was a “drop everything” event?
By Kathy, August 28, 2009 @ 1:30 am
I think often about all the things I experienced on Grandpa’s farm when I was growing up that my kids will never experience. I remember when we used to butcher: make blood sausage, fry down bacon, and turn the crank on the old sausage stuffer. Craig loves to go there and hang out with Dan. When he was in KG he did a book on his visit to the farm, complete with pictures and commentary on how much he loved the farm and Uncle Danny. Grandma and Grandma worked so hard so everything they had. I just wish they could have enjoyed their Golden Years more.
By Jakki, August 28, 2009 @ 4:17 pm
I know where you are coming from. Granted its not farming but I grew up in a small rural town with one red flashing light for a busy street in town. As the boys have gotten older, they really enjoy going ‘home’ to visit and working out in the yard with my dad. My dad loves to show them how he grew up and how being physically busy is a good thing. But I also get a chance to show them that happiness is not found in a cell phone, computer or video game. Its all about coming together as a family and enjoying each other as a family.
By Jill, August 31, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
Well, I grew up in Iowa..where every drive is a drive through the countryside. And when we’d get a big whiff of **that smell** my mom would say, “That’s the smell of money”. Maybe not so much these days with the economy in the tank, but back then those hogs and cows brought in some cash for the livestock farmers.
By Christine, September 6, 2009 @ 2:45 am
I completely understand where you are coming from. I love going back home so I can see the multitude of stars and listen to the silence. One of the reasons I decided to live where I do in Texas is because it’s on the edge of suburbs and country. Unfortunately that will be changing in a few years as there are plans of building a mall about a mile from me.
By Mikaela, September 7, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
People sometimes do realize that turning back from what we are from before (past) was really a good consequences because you know how to deal the hardships from before and now just enjoying its fruit. The new generation today specially those kids who grew in an urban area doesn’t care about how to live in an rural areas like town and farm.