Dear Lindsey,
Ever since my first child was 2, I have enjoyed taking my kids hand-in-hand for a morning outing to the Farmers’ Market, filling our basket with the fruits and veggies of the season and finishing our day with homemade donuts, turkey sausage or ice cream as a locally made treat. When Casey was 2, he was “helping” me carry a bag of peaches. To my surprise, he wasn’t beside me when I looked down talking to him. I searched the path behind me, as booths and people lined the edges, and I saw smiles on all of the faces. Without a care in the world, Casey had sat down in the dirt in the middle of the crowd, legs sprawled, and decided to have nature’s treat. Peach juice dripped down his face onto his shirt, clear to his elbows. Onlookers smiled at the scene, but he didn’t notice them. He just enjoyed his peach. It’s such a fun memory to recall, now that he is 15 and towering over me!
Yesterday’s trip involved my youngest two, 8 and 7. We began in the building section – which held craftsmanship of all kinds. J.R. was particularly excited to see the “boomerang store.” (smile)
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I had taken Christine and JR in my small car (BMW 3 series convertible) to the Farmers’ Market, and after our shopping, Christine wanted to buy a fig tree with her allowance money, so she could “sell figs”. I love her entrepreneurial spirit!! The $10 price/risk/investment seemed perfect for the teachable moment. I thought about bringing the truck back for transporting the tree, but then we realized we could set it at her feet in the convertible, with the top down, and it could stick out the top a little. Have you ever seen a convertible driving down the road with a tree sticking out? Then, you guessed it; it started to rain. It rained on the just and the unjust alike, and we got soaked. Have you ever seen a convertible driving down the road with the top down in the rain? With a tree sticking out? With children under the tree? I especially had to laugh out loud at the stop lights – which of course turned red upon our approach – while I sat next to “normal” people in cars, listening to their music, not noticing that the woman next to them was singing in the rain, with two kids and a tree sticking out of her car!! “Mom! I won’t even have to water my tree today!” Christine yelled from the backseat while I continued to sing for fun.
We made it safely home, with my hurricane hair, and a fig tree.
This morning, J.R. woke up and immediately asked, “Mom, can you take me to the Farmers’ Market today? I want to buy a blueberry plant.”
Place a comment below if you would like to place orders for figs and blueberries. LOL!
Thanking God for the joys of motherhood today,
Terri
P.S. They started their own “save the trees” club. TTC stands for “The Tree Club” and its purpose is to collect money to buy the trees at the Farmers’ Market so none of them gets thrown away. One of J.R.’s many titles is, “Idea Man: thinker if other members can’t”.
JR’s business card: “Idea Man” THINKER, (if other members can’t!)
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Letters to Lindsey 
Terri,
Thank you for sharing! 🙂 Our son is 9 months old (almost walking!) And we are excited for what’s to come when he is your childrens age! I will confess, we are however extremenly patient.
Much love,
Mike and Kathlene
Terri, I am delighted to know I am not the only one getting funny looks this summer as driving down the road with a tree in the backseat. Mine was a hibiscus, and my it just fit into my Impala (the car Tony T said we wanted to get from the list Chris gave him). I laughed at your description of the looks you got, remembering the ones I got, knowing there was a perfectly logical reason for a tree in the back seat, even if no one else understood at the time.
I will happily be the first to place an order for blueberries and figs! Rescuing trees sounds like a perfectly wonderful thing to do . . .
Terri, Your story of Casey reminded me of the time we stopped at a road side stand and I looked over and saw my two oldest about 7 and 8 at the time enjoying tomatoes as if they were apples. They’re grown up now 28 and 27, so I appreciate the your sharing and reminding me.
Tami
WOw. I can only imagine what they will be like 20 years from now! Thanks for reminding me to enjoy these days:)!
Terri, I SOOO look forward to your blog posts. Tell Christine to keep up that positive attitude (I won’t even have to water my tree today!) Thanks for a great start to my day.
That’s such a wonderful story. I am a country girl to the bone, and love to hear that other people do crazy things like that. I remember growing up and going for Sunday drives in the country, and seeing trees in the ditch Mom just had to have. Now, that she’s passed on, I cherish those memories, of good Sunday clothes and rubber boots. I hope that as a mother I can be part of those crazy memories for my girls.
Thank you again for sharing, and bringing those memories to the for front of my mind. 🙂
Smiling ear-to-ear.
Chris
So funny and sweet. I love the “boomerang store”!
Thank you for feeding my Elephant !! Live your dream everyday !!
So fun!!! I love it!! You know how to live girlfriend :)!!! This reminds me of our recent move from GA. Both our vehicles packed to the brim. But I just HAD to take my lemon tree. So….after arranging and rearranging, we MADE it fit. After all, we needed the lemon tree in order to make fresh lemonade,right?! ha ha…. Hmmm….( just had a revelation) we need the bitter in order to appreciate the sweet!
Anyway, we like figs and blueberries;).
Ha ha ha. To funny. Thanks for sharing those memories.
Love it!!LOL!! Cherish the moments. I’m glad you are writing them down.
Love it!! Thank you so much for sharing! Your blogs always bring a smile to my face!
Love you sharing your stories, it is such an encouragement as mothers and grandmothers. Thank you once again!
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