Sessions with the Farmer’s Wife:
Conventional Wisdom for Contemporary Life
March 20, 1986: Clear, sunny, cold morning. Sheldon Coop spread lime on South 80.
March 21, 1986: Mostly sunny and warmer. First thing the guys got the combine out and caught those 8 rows of corn that had a snow bank in them. They spent most of the day in the shop, as usual.
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March 21, 1993: Started snowing during early morning hours. Kept at it and some churches in area cancelled services.
March 22, 1993: Had 11 inches of snow so roads weren’t very good til snow plow came through. – Leona, Personal Journals
The Pond Across Our Road is Showing Signs of Spring's Arrival
By the time I finish composing this blog, officially Winter will have concluded and Spring will have arrived. It is presently 4:08 pm and at exactly 5:21 pm, the cold, dark, dreary, oftentimes wearisome season of Winter will be over – according to the almanac, anyway. One of the problems with Spring Equinox, however, is that the dismissal of Winter and arrival of Spring is not quite that simple, as can be seen with Leona’s entries taken from two separate years. In 1986, “the guys” – as we called John and Jim, were actually in the field snagging a few bushels of corn that had hung on last year’s stalks all Winter long and the Coop had spread lime on a field, too. Not so in 1993. Sure the Spring Equinox arrived March 20, but Winter wasn’t giving up quite so easily and no one was considering doing anything in any field.
So, too, with the season changes in our lives. The moment that the life of Spring will return is very difficult to foresee, but something for which we want to be ready. We’ve been highlighting several important phases as we anticipated Spring’s arrival in this Success Is Launched in Winter discussion, which included:
1. Reflect
2. Evaluate
3. Investigate
4. Plan
Today we wrap up with the final phase:
5. Prepare
The Tulips are Hoping and Preparing for Spring. They've Felt The Warmth, and They Believe the Promise!
I think one of the most important components of preparation is to remember that Winter does not last forever. That one idea alive in your brain will propel you forward when others may give up. This is true of other seasons, as well, and is a concept that must be respected during the good times, too. Barbara G. Berger, the president of Food City Markets, Inc., is quoted in Donald Trump’s book as saying, “The sun doesn’t shine forever” (p. 34, The Way to the Top: The Best Business Advice I Ever Received, 2004, Crown Business, New York). Trump rephrases that quote as “During an upturn, prepare for a downturn.” The agricultural version would be, “Make hay while the sun shines.”
Those ideas are for a few months off, but for now, whether it’s sunny, warm and dry, or snowy, cold, and blustery, be assured that Spring is on its way! But for day-to-day life, what does that matter? What does it change? Knowing that Winter will end and one must prepare for Spring elicits hope. I do not know a force more powerful than hope. Hope alters one’s mind so that physical and mental healing can take place in the darkest of illness. Hope is what allows necessity to be the mother of invention. Hope is what drives us to take steps that will change the course of our lives.
My Raked Garden -- Preparing for Spring!
Here are a few examples, in my little life, of hope propelling me forward:
*I packed boxes in preparation of buying a house more appropriate for my family’s phase of life
*I wrote songs in preparation of someday being able to record them and, potentially, benefit others
*I went back to college in preparation of my daily responsibilities at home diminishing and being able to contribute financially with a new career
*I raked the garden today preparing for the sun to warm the earth and vegetables to grow again
*I cleaned my house preparing for a showing that someone will soon buy this house
*I treated my children with love and respect when they were young preparing for enjoyable holidays with them and their families when they were adults
While this list is far from exhaustive and may sound somewhat silly, I know that there were times in my life that Winter was cold and bitter, and I had lost all hope, so there was not an ounce of preparation for Spring going on with me.
*One summer I lay in bed hours every day, drinking Coke and eating chocolate, clinically depressed, ruminating on how I had been betrayed by those I trusted and vowing to never leave my home again and certainly never trust again
*In October, 1989, I was so grief-stricken by an ectopic pregnancy and death of my baby that I did not dare to hope for another child and was not at all convinced I would ever have the strength to care for the two beautiful sons we had at that time
*When I was in college studying music, I developed nodules on my vocal chords, followed by a devastating surgery that should never have been performed, I discovered I could not speak or sing, and gave up all expectations of ever sounding normal again
Sometime We Need a Little Assistance in the Preparation Process -- Here's Jim & Marcus Preparing Anthony for His Wedding
Thankfully, in spite of my lack of preparation for Spring, the seasons changed in my life in these and all other of my Winters, so that I have seen Spring suddenly strike on the coldest and most hopeless of days. I’ve found myself wishing I hadn’t wasted so much time and thought holding onto Winter when Spring, with all of her warmth and color, was patiently waiting to visit me.
Some Things Hope Can Never Quite Capture Until You Get There - Me with Anthony on His Wedding Day
That is my hope for you, as well. I have no intention of minimizing the pain, the bitterness, the grief, the agony and disappointment, the fear and loss you have experienced. No doubt, those experiences will change your life forever. But so that those encounters do not define your entire existence, today I remind you that Spring is coming…and may even be here already. It might be a cold and rough entry, like 1993 was for the Iowa farmers. Perhaps, however, it is already warm enough for you to go without a jacket. At least step outside and see….
Grain of Truth: Sometimes we miss the warmth and color of Spring because we’re still inside, hiding from the Winter.
Sessions International 