In all the years dreaming of what I would do with my life , never would I have thought I would be the “Egg Lady”. My aspirations were far more glamorous! Maybe I could be a singer and be surrounded by adoring fans, or perhaps work in the travel industry and see the world….the list was endless. My visions were typically fascinating,, fun and romantic. Oh the things I would experience and see. I would live out my dream in perpetual happiness and bliss! Then I met my hubby, a very grounded down to earth farm boy. I was actually offered a job in Bermuda as a Nanny when we met. I flew to Bermuda , had an interview, got the job and flew home to get ready to start my exciting new life. Easy peasy right? Absolutely not! My new possible employers said go home and take a week to sort out what you want to do.” You want to make sure you are happy with your decision should you want to stay” they said. The fact that they offered me time to think made me want to work for them. After telling my now hubby, he said “You have to do what’s right for you”( with the saddest face ever) But I had a niggling thought, a hesitancy that continued to pop up. Do I stay or do I go? I finally had a heart to heart with my mother asking her what I should do. Her answer was very simple. Go where your heart tells you to and never go through life with regrets. For some reason that simple sentence made it clear! I stayed! I married that man within a year and started a life that would take me to places I never thought to experience!
I had a host of different jobs and children to raise before I would become the “Egg Lady”. Both my husband and I worked at various occupations, but always had one foot in the doorway of farming. He of course as a farm boy, has numerous years of experience on me and when time allowed I could follow in this agrarian life. I had grown up learning to garden, preserve, knit, sew, butcher(learned to make blood pudding…blech), forage, and generally appreciate the natural world around me. I carried these skills through our life and gained a few extras(soap making is one of my favorites) but had never really immersed myself in the farm. Once the children were raised and on their way, I began to spend more time on the land and with the animals. I am continuously learning how this machine drives, and just when I think I’ve got it, Mother Nature or said animals put me in my place and teach me another lesson. I’ve learned to slow down and observe everything from the sound of the cows moo to the way a chicken is breathing. I notice plants that may be taking over in fields and that the yield of hay will be more or less in any particular year! I can hear you laughing all ready! However all of those small pieces of information collaborate together to make a farmer, a steward of the land and one who is doing animal husbandry. It is an intimate relationship held. Is it glamorous? Perhaps not, but to me it is captivating, exciting, charming, fascinating and humbling. It is real!
So back to the “Egg Lady”. Some would think it a handle not to be proud of but I would strongly disagree. Do I look back and regret this life I chose (or tagged along with). Hell no! It has been, and continues to be a life of learning, watching, appreciating and most of all humbling! I deal with life, death, ups and downs and would be remiss to say it hasn’t been all easy, but I can’t say as I would change a thing. This once upon a time wanna be glamour girl is now a content farm girl with a great pair of rubber boots!
