Pickling and Parenthood

When I was five months pregnant I had lunch with a friend who had a one year old daughter. She looked exhausted. I was rambling on about all things foodstuff and the preservation techniques I was currently into. I think that I was even going on and on about how important I felt food preservation was for the urban homestead and localism movements.

I am pretty sure my talking was making her more tired because she just barely mumbled back to my monologue, “Yeah…I use to be into all of that until I became a mom.”

I have to admit at the time I was a bit judgmental towards her in my own mind…”What?! Until you became a mom! Isn’t now the most important time to prepare most of what your family is eating?!”

Yeah…now I’m a mom too and I TOTALLY get it. Having a little one at my feet all weekend while I was pickling and canning for the Canning Share at Copper Moose Farm pretty much doubled the amount of time it took me two years ago.

I had to stop for snuggles, snackes, diaper changes, a trip to the park, a game of blocks, a trip to the driveway for a spin on her trike, a bubble bath, and a before bed snug. In between all of that mama activity I was sterilizing, processing, chopping, measuring, hot water bathing, and pressure canning.

If there is one thing I’ve learned in the last 16 months, it’s that when I bring my expectations and preconceived ideas to mamahood, I get a serious smackdown.

But when I can keep opening to what really is…the interruptions, the screams, the snugs…I can truly come into my own life with more presence. This little B continually invites me to let go of how I think life should be and experience how my life really is in each moment.

I am still preserving as a mama. It just looks really different then it did two years ago. It takes more time and a bit more effort. A day like today makes me think that eating local and preserving food has really become a lifestyle.

I get frustrated…for sure! I, many times, get caught in that "I should be doing things more efficiently" headspace. But when I am being honest, it is these frustrating moments that reveal to me how very attached I am to how I want things to be going. This really is one of the biggest gifts B has offered me – a good look at my own mind junk.

So I just keep practicing…coming back to the moment, my breath, my B...and through it all I have managed to keep preserving...