Where I'm From

Where I'm From

I am from the country
From how to play - without toys or electronics
Possibly the last Americans to own a television
Never mind, no time to watch anyway
Mountains to climb, cans to kick, & ride the donkey or catch horned toads
“Gone fishing,” water skiing or wade the creek & chase the cows

I am from a country of bare essentials & hand-me-downs
The country of “meat & potatoes” and “clean your plate”
Even if the winter’s canned peas make you gag
Homemade biscuits & white gravy each & every night
From milk the cow, gather the eggs, & weed the garden - all before school

From shaking mason jars filled with fresh cream & salt creating homemade butter
Shaking ‘til you think your arms will fall off then, pass it to sister,
You’ll taste none better
From homemade potato soup of garden spuds & onions, biscuits & homemade jam
I am from “go to the hen house & bring in a chicken for dinner & shuck the corn”
From planting, irrigating, weeding, harvesting & preserving crops for survival

I am from the country where there are no ice cream cones because
“Money doesn’t grow on trees ya know” but,
Run to the store & get Daddy a pack of Marlboros
I am from mining camps, pig farms, 4H & rodeos - a circus of sorts
A place where 1st - 8th grade corralled only about 100 kids from a 20 mile radius
Learning to drive in the family’s junked car lot, imagining the trips “yonder”

I am from Albert & Marilyn, Grandma & Granny, two Grandpas
And mothering two younger sisters,
I am from “Can’t never did anything” & learning “Just do it because I said so.”
Instead I learnt to ask myself - “How can I get the job done?”
“Warsh” the clothes, wring ‘em out, & hang them in the sun or indoors in winter

I am from preparation, anticipation, expectation, determination and exhaustion
Pour Daddy another cup of coffee, please & scratch my back
Tickle me until I pee my pants or jump out & scare me half to death
Couldn’t be who I am today, without all my yesterdays-yesteryears
Trade them???  Not a one!

                                                                                         Feb. 14, 2008