The Life of a Farmer or Rancher's Wife

I've been reading a book about a family who lives on a ranch in Wyoming with descriptions of the mother waking early to fix a big breakfast for her family (especially her hard working husband, sons and other ranch hands) then doing the dishes, some baking and then starting in on the afternoon meal only to have to clean it all up again.  There isn't much talk of it in the book, but I'm sure in between the baking and the afternoon meal, beds were made, laundry done and bathrooms cleaned.  This was the life of my grandmothers on both sides.  My Grandma George used to say, "Girls were made to take care of boys," and that's what she did.  That saying use to infuriate me and I had a very difficult time believing she, my mother and my mother's sisters actually bought into it and did it.  But I've had a slight change of heart.  How I would love to be able to spend much of my day in the kitchen cooking great food, baking delicious treats and having plenty of people around to eat it all up and enjoy it.  I really do love to cook.  The thing that amazes me is, my grandma made those good ol' meat and potatoes meals, with either homemade rolls or bread with every one and there was ALWAYS dessert, but no one was overweight because they didn't ever stop.  None of this "sittin' behind a desk lookin' at a computer" stuff.  Come to think of it, I don't remember ever hearing my grandma say she needed to go on a diet.

A few things I would insist on still having if I moved into that kind of lifestyle, would be:  a microwave, a gas stove, a Kitchenaid or Bausch mixer, hot running water, a hand mixer, a dishwasher and, funny enough, an ice maker.  So I guess I'm not wanting to go back in time, necessarily, I just want to be able to slow my life down, get my kids to want to work hard and have pride in what they do and to be able to cook to my hearts content and not have any of the food go to waist. 

Since I have the day off, I think I'll start baking now.  So don't be surprised if some food comes your way because, unlike my grandmother, it will go straight to my hips if I eat it all and I don't have enough mouths at my ranch to put it all away.