Farm Fresh Attitude

By sunset the transformation was complete.  We had arrived at Kinnikinnick Farm, 90 miles from Chicago, hurried, harried, and travel weary.  I was so tightly wound from a day of airport security, and flying with four kids, and renting cars, and all the travel trappings that more than one person gently suggested that I might need a glass of wine.  The kids were wound tighter than a spring, which transformed them into manic balls of energy bouncing here and there around the farm.    With such an uptight beginning, it was almost impossible to see how we were going to successfully unwind and reconnect to each other and the land. 

Slowly, sneakily the farm began to work its magic.  Egg gathering first thing in the morning produced the freshest eggs we had ever eaten.  Getting those eggs from the coop to the table in a fire we built ourselves was like a deep cleansing breath.  Then there was the goat milking, the rhythmic motion serving as a massage to a hurried soul.  Next, the walking through the rows of herbs, choosing just the right ones for dinner made us feel grounded for the first time in ages.    By dinner time, we had a farm fresh lookout on life. 

As the sun sank lower in the sky, we were fully immersed in the fresh air-no deadlines feel of the farm.  We took in a game of croquet and watched the kids conquer the hay mountain.  As the sky melded into a river of pink and purple, our souls were transformed into space of contemplation and calm. 

If you are hoping for the answer to the common stress filled life, I now know the cure.  It’s not a day at the spa or a meditative retreat or any concoction created by modern chemistry.  It’s just 24 hours on the farm capped off by one unbelievable sunset.

~This post is a part of Travel Photo Thursday at Budget Travelers Sandbox and Photo Friday at Delicious Baby~