One Man's Ruminations About Faith, Family, and Livin' The Good Life
Futureman & Grandparenting
17 February 2014
Futureman making bread
It has been a year and a month since I left the “security” and future pension benefits of my government job to come home and work the Planet Whizbang home business. I can report that I have had no problems at all adjusting to this “new life.” And, thus far, sufficient income is coming in to keep the bills paid.
I mentioned this year-plus anniversary to Marlene the other morning and she replied that, “We couldn’t do this if you didn’t come home.” The “this” she spoke of was helping to take care of her 99-year-old mother, her 76-year-old sister (in declining health), my disabled sister (MS), and our grandson, a.k.a., Futureman (when his parents are working).
There are others who are helping, but Marlene bears a large amount of burden—more than most hereabouts realize, or can relate to. The fact that I am home and can help some makes things a little easier. I’m of the mind that God orchestrated the time of my “retirement” from wage slavery to coincide with the family demands that would arise.
Futureman, is a ray of sunshine in the midst of the sadness and hardships we see in the lives of many around us. He is here at our home almost every day. Just short of two years old, he is very busy, but he has a good nature and is a lot of fun.
This morning at breakfast I juggled three clementines for him. He, sitting in his high chair eating blueberries, watched for a moment and burst out laughing. That made me laugh too. Simple pleasures. When he is older I’ll tell him I learned to juggle when I was in the circus. ;-)
The picture at the top of this page is Futureman “helping” Marlene make oatmeal bread. I think I’ve posted a picture here before of him making bread with his grandmother. Hopefully, he will be around here for a long time, and Marlene will be making bread for a long time to come, and he will remember. Such memories are important.
When it comes to grandchildren, I’m persuaded that our job as grandparents is to love and focus, be godly examples, and create memories. My grandparents did this with me (my Grandmother Kimball especially), but the time I had with my grandparents was limited to some summer vacations early in my life. They were in northern Maine, I was in Central New York. That’s not the best arrangement for grandparenting. But even just a few summers were enough to make a big difference in my life.
“Having a loving relationship with a grandparent makes children feel special. It builds their self-esteem to know there is an extended family that loves them. A sense of identity develops as children learn about their roots. They discover that grandparents have time to listen with interest, to play, to let them help with ‘real work,” such as cooking or gardening. In quiet, unhurried moments, questions about faith and life are answered from the knowledge of experience. In these ways grandparents pass on their faith in God while helping build confidence and self-worth."
That quote is, essentially, my credo for grandparenting. It is a large part of why I think I am here on this earth.
Speaking of “real work” I put Futureman to work awhile back counting rubber chicken plucker fingers. People buy these in boxes of 125 to make their own Whizbang Chicken Plucker. They are counted out with the help of a “counter” with 126 holes, one for each finger, and one extra. Counting and packaging plucker fingers is something productive that I can do on the kitchen table while Futureman is taking his nap. Futureman grasped the concept quickly. He tried to put the first finger in upside down and it wouldn’t fit, so he turned it around. I thought to myself, what a smart boy! What he didn't get is that once the fingers are in the holes, they need to stay there; taking them out was as much fun as putting them in. I think these things—making bread with grammie and counting chicken plucker fingers with grampie—are little examples of a family economy in action. And so is spending time to help other members of the family that are going through a hard time.
I'm glad the Lord made it possible for you to work at home. It does seem like His hand was in the timing. "All things work together for good to those that Love god and are called according to His purpose." A piece of scripture that I remind myself of often.
Great picture! I didn't realize all that rested on your shoulders. If you need help with something, give a shout. I agree with the other folks here that you are blessed. May God continue to bless you!
I (Herrick KImball) have been blogging here about Faith, Family & Livin' The Good Life since 2005. Browse down this column and you will discover a rich resource of contra-industrial thought, down-to-earth inspiration & useful how-to information.
CLICK HEREto view the archive of links to past Deliberate Agrarian monthly "blogazines."
My Stewardculture Magazine Interview (Part 1)
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Delmar Ain't So Stupid...
Click on Delmar and read why I think he's the smartest of the three characters in the "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" movie
Aphorisms Of The Fathers...
And The Mothers (click the picture)
My New York Times Op-Ed Article
The Jeffersonian Solution (click the man and read the article)
Check Out My New Whizbang Gardening Facebook Page...
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Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 1
It's A Biblical Imperative (click the picture)
Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 2
We Are Not Called To Be Slaves (click the picture)
Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 3
Profile of a Free Man (click the picture)
Reestablishing The Family Economy—Part 4
Sage Advice For Would-Be Farmers (click the picture)
Corporationism vs Independent Patriarchal Units
Lyberty Hyde Bailey (1927) Read it and weep. (click the picture)
Read The Book— Writings Of A Deliberate Agrarian
…Now available as a PDF download for only $4.50 (click the picture for details)
Farming 1.5 Acres...
…And Making A Good Living. (click the picture)
Goodness, Beauty & Loving The Earth
A Christian-Agrarian Missive on God's Creation
Reading Agriphemera
We can learn a lot from the old agricultural writings (Click the picture for more details)
This Man, Now Deceased, Predicted The Economic Decline of America Back in The 1950's.
Click the picture to read about Professor Walter Prescott Webb's Boom Hypothesis of Modern History, and where we are headed from here
Agrarian-Style Economic Self Defense...
I posted this to the internet in early 2008. It is still the most practical advice you'll get for dealing with the harsh economic realities that we face now and will face even more in the years ahead. (click the picture to read the essay)
Modern Banking is An Evil System of Economic Oppression
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The Coming Pension Crisis...
...And what you can do about it. (click the picture)
How To Get Through The Coming Hyperinflation
click the picture to read the 6-part series
Have You Considered Deflation?
Martin Armstrong seems pretty sure of himself (click the sign for details)
The Christian Doctrine of Work
Something's Missing in The 10 Commandmants as it is commonly known. (click the picture)
Scott Nearing's "Horse Chow"
A Four Part Series (click on any of the raisins in the bowl)
Mr. Tesoro's Story
(click the picture)
Blessed is the Man...
Reflections on "tax day." (click the old paper)
City Living?
Some Thoughts on Christian-Agrarian Community (click the picture)
A Herod Nation
Is that What America Has Become? (click the picture)
How To Remember (And Teach Your Children) The 10 Commandments
click the sad bath
Light in Our Dwellings...
Christianity + Agrarianism = Hope In the midst of a dying industrial culture (click the light)
Have You Seen My Whizbang Gardening Book?
5 stars at Amazon. Click the cover to learn more.
New From Planet Whizbang... The Old-Timer's Poultry Library
A rare and fascinating resource for the poultry lover (click the picture for details)
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Strawberries From My Garden!
Grown the "E.P. Roe Way" (click the picture to learn more)
Rural Americans: Cannon Fodder For The New World Order
Click on Sergeant York to read the story.
Freedom Isn't Free (And Other Propoganda)
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Esther Stermer Was A Conspiracy Theorist!
Obviously the woman was a little crazy.… Right? (click the picture for the story)
How Free Men Become Slaves...
A Contra-Industrial Parable From The Okefenokee Swamp (click the pigs)
I Make Classic American Clothespins
click the clothespin and learn all about them.
Have You been to The Agrarian Foundation Article Archives?
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What Would an Agrarian Monetary System Look Like?
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Thomas Jefferson's Warnings About Government Debt (Then and Now)
Read it and weep (click the president)
How Farmers Became Slaves To The Corporate Masters
Click on the mostly forgotton 1937 book by Professor Walter Prescott Webb and learn the sad story
Why Food?
A Christian-Agrarian perspective (click the picture to read the essay)
The Puritan Theology of Suffering...
An excellent treatise on a difficult subject. (click the picture to learn more)
A Missive On The Prosperity-Driven Life
"The desire to be rich, to have an abundance of possessions and money, is the keystone of our modern, neo-Babylonian culture." (click the picture for my perspective)
Prosperity Gospel/ Prosperity Idolatry
Click the picture to hear John Piper's powerful 2.5 minute condemnation of the modern prosperity gospel
Homo-Tyranny
... And Me (click the trap)
Agrarian Nation
Another of my online projects (click the picture)
Have You Been To Planet Whizbang?
It's my deliberate agrarian home business. Click the beet and check it out.
NEW…. Whizbang Notes
These delightful little notebooks are a great down-to-earth tool. Click the beet to learn more.
Have You Seen The Planet Whizbang Wheel Hoe I Invented?
Click The Picture For Details about the hoe and the inexpensive wheel hoe kits I sell
I Invite You To Read My Online Gardening Essays
Click on that beautiful handful of sifted compost.
The Wife Of My Youth...
A Blessed Man's Reflections on Young Love (click the happy faces)
Eulogy For Evelyn
She was my mother-in-law. (click the picture)
Ken Badman's Good Example
Actions Speak Louder Than Words. (click the picture)
Backyard Sugaring
We make our own maple syrup. Click on the picture for complete how-to details.
Have You Seen Leo Sprauer's Handcrafted Hop Hoe?
Click the picture to learn more.
Learn About Whizbang Bucket Irrigation...
(click the trickle valve)
Have You Read Roe?
E.P. Roe, that is. Click on his picture to read some excerpts from this remarkable Christian-agrarian author of the 1800s.
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Yeoman Furniture (Part 2)
Waste Not, Want Not (click the picture for the story)
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You can make awesome apple mash, ready for pressing, in no time with this homemade device. Click on the picture to learn more
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You can too (click on the picture to learn how)
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Click on the picture for William's Story
Homegrown Poultry
Click on the picture and I'll show you how to butcher a chicken
The Lovely Marlene With A Homemade Whizbang Garden Cart
Anyone can make a Whizbang Garden Cart. Click on the picture to learn how.
My Whizbang Row Cover Hoop System
Finally Online as of 1/29/10 (click the pic)
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Click The Chicken!
This Blog Promotes Personal Responsibility And Traditional Concepts of American Liberty
—:::—
"If a community, or a section, or a race, or an age, is groaning under industrialism, and well aware that it is an evil dispensation, it must find a way to throw it off. To think that this cannot be done is pusillanimous. And if the whole community, section, race, or age thinks it cannot be done, then... it has doomed itself to impotence."
—Twelve Southerners
—:::—
The Christian-Agrarian Exodus of 1620
The Pligrims did NOT come to America for religious freedom. (click the picture)
Vacuum Bottle Thermos Cooking
Learn how to prepare and cook simple, inexpensive, wholesome meals (click the thermos bottle to read)
The Sermon I'll Never Forget
Pastor West was at Iwo Jima (click Mt. Suribachi)
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Hay Hooks
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6 comments:
You are blessed.
What a blessing to have your grandson with you almost everyday! He's such an industrious little fellow. Yes, it's all about making memories :-).
I'm glad the Lord made it possible for you to work at home. It does seem like His hand was in the timing. "All things work together for good to those that Love god and are called according to His purpose." A piece of scripture that I remind myself of often.
Little kids are such great fun!
Futureman is blessed!
Great picture! I didn't realize all that rested on your shoulders. If you need help with something, give a shout. I agree with the other folks here that you are blessed. May God continue to bless you!
I was very disappointed to see the date on this blog. I hoped Futureman was back. So sad. I will add more prayers.
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