Our Rural Roots

Jennifer Campbell, Contributor

Farming and kids have a funny way of making time feel both unchanging and fleeting all at once.

I remember Mother's Day 1999 like it was yesterday. I was working ground ahead of my husband as he planted corn. Our daughter was riding shotgun, and I was pregnant with our second child. It wasn't exactly a day of rest, but I was happy to be out there, all of us working together.

The only thing I asked for that day was for my husband, Chris, to take some pictures of us in the field.

This was pre-cellphone days -- no snapping a quick picture and tucking your phone back in your pocket. If you wanted photos, you had to plan for it -- carry a camera, take the pictures then get the film developed. It was a whole process. You had to make a deliberate effort, and somehow, that makes those pictures even more special.

Farming has changed a lot over the years -- bigger equipment, variable rates, auto steer. Technology had made things more efficient, more precise and, sometimes, a little easier. But, these days when I'm in a tractor and glance over at my granddaughter in the cab with me, I realize that for all the ways things have progressed, the heart of it all has stayed the same.

Mother's Day has never been about fancy brunches or spa days. It has always been about family for me. Working together or experiencing a chaotic lunch with everyone in my kitchen is how I want to celebrate.

Time marches on, whether we like it or not. Kids grow up, tractors get traded, and years go by. But, every now and then, life gives us these full-circle moments. The trick is to stop long enough to appreciate them and record the memory.

However you spend this Mother's Day, I hope it's exactly the way you picture it.

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-- Jennifer (Jent) Campbell captures life by word and camera from a seven-generation Indiana family farm. She also writes a blog called Farm Wife Feeds (https://farmwifefeeds.com/…). Follow her on X @plowwife and on the @girlstalkag podcast.

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