Too Little Time

We survived the winter blast that we had for a couple of days. I didn't cover the greens in the greenhouse because I simply ran out of time. So I was sweating bullets that everything would come out OK. Luckily it did but that got me to thinking about how my time is spent and how I can better manage it.

My grandfather didn't have the modern conveniences that I do now and he managed to get everything done. Of course he worked from sun up to sun down and rarely took time for himself other than the occasional trip to the fish pond. My grandmother didn't work a public job-she said that grandpa and the kids were her job. She was there to help out as best as she could but she really wasn't much of an outdoorsy woman. Her place was in the house and she did that excellently. She would work in the family vegetable garden and doing all the 'putting up' of the veggies. Grandpa was a tobacco farmer and he did all of that. Their kids helped with the setting, priming, and harvesting. But he still managed to get it all done and I am struggling with our farm and my time.

I sit in the greenhouse picking spinach leaves one at a time and can't help but wonder if there is a better more efficient way of doing this task. I actually enjoy doing this but it a very time consuming job. I pride myself on the quality of our produce because each leaf is inspected by me personally. I also think that I need to put some spinach in the freezer for all the tomato pies that I will be making at the farm once we open. But the orders keep growing and I am unable to do that. There are beds in the greenhouse that need to be picked and then tilled under so that I can seed something new. Just as I think I am going to get a day to do that a last minute order comes in that is going to take up the majority of my day to get together. This will inevitably cause me to get behind just when I was about to catch up.

I feel as if I am fighting a never ending battle of trying to get caught up and I wonder if my grandfather ever felt that way. I am sure that he had to but you would never know it if you met him. He seemed so calm and in control all the time. I know he didn't have the distractions that we do today. For example, I stay up late to update the blog, create a monthly newsletter, design a web site, and try to find ways to get new customers.

This evening we went to dinner with my parents and I never remember my grandparents going out to dinner. They grew what they ate and they ate what they grew-it was that simple. If they got together with family it was over a home cooked meal. I can't help but think this had to give grandpa a little more time to do the things he needed to do. I know the real reason was that they couldn't afford to go out to dinner. I still feel like a novice to the whole farming business even though I grew up with a farmer. I guess grandpa felt this way in the beginning until he found his groove. I just have to be patient and have faith that my groove will come in time.