Page 22 of Sugarplum Dreams
That made her heart smile. That he thought that her children were important. And learning their names was a priority for him.
“I really wanted to know about you.” She felt like she talked nonstop. He figured out her views on birth control, which was a rather private thing, before they barely even knew each other, and she hadn’t even known what his job was until just now. Definitely she’d been talking too much.
“All right, I’ll tell you what. I’ll ask a question and you answer it, then you get to ask a question and I’ll answer it. Is that a good deal?”
She loved that he tried to make things fair. Not that everything could always be fair, but it was nice that he gave a nod to her concern. It made her feel seen and valued. “That sounds fine.”
“All right. I answered your question about what I did, in addition to farming. I guess I could tell you some about my farm. I have beef cattle, and I make hay for them to eat over the winter. I don’t grow corn, although sometimes I’ll buy it, if I don’t feel like I have enough hay to make it through. I grow somevegetables and sell some of that stuff, but that’s a lot more labor intensive, and I’ve veered away from that over the years.”
“Sounds like a dream,” she said, meaning it. She would love to grow all of her own food, although… The work involved made her rethink that idea. Going to the grocery store was so much easier than weeding in the garden then harvesting then putting it up. Then she had to figure out her meals based on what was already in the freezer.
“Is it my turn?” he asked, seeming to watch her as she thought about things.
“Of course. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about how much I would love to grow my own food, but then I thought about how much work it was, and…maybe going to the grocery store isn’t so bad.”
“Well, you have five kids. You don’t need to take on more work. And here’s a question. Tell me their names and ages if I can do that in one question.”
She laughed. “We’re not keeping score. I can tell you their names and ages.”
“All right. I’m listening, or maybe I should take notes.”
“I’ll tell you as many times as you need me to. I don’t expect you to remember it the first time you’re told.” She certainly had trouble with other people’s kids’ names, so she could understand the issue. To her, it was easy, but everyone said the kids all looked alike.
“Gifford’s the oldest, he’s eight. He is the one that probably has had the hardest time with his dad leaving, other than Banks. He’s really struggled too. He’s five.”
“Gifford and Banks. Gotcha. Struggling with their dad. I think five is a really bad age.”
“Yeah. I probably could have sent him to kindergarten this year, but with all the other changes in our life, I just felt like it might have been too much.”
“That’s probably a wise decision, although I feel like it’s better to graduate early than late. You only have so much of your life to live, and you don’t want to waste it on school.”
“No. But it is nice to be able to stay home. You have an extra year with your family and an extra year to get grounded in what you believe.”
“That’s a good point.”
“Lavinia is four. She was the one with all the playdough. She’s very artistic and particular about what color she gets. I only let them play with one color at a time, otherwise we would have a great big glob of dark gray playdough. I know that’s mean, but I’m a mean mom.”
“That’s not mean, that’s wise, and good for you for sticking to your guns.”
It was nice to hear someone say that she was doing something right. It was hard not to just stop there and smile for a little bit.
“The two youngest are Serafina, who’s two, and then Evans, who’s one.”
“All of your kids are pretty close together. That was eight, five and four, then two and one.”
“Yeah, Gifford just turned eight at the end of August, and Banks turned five just after the cutoff for kindergarten. That’s the biggest gap.”
He seemed thoughtful, and she debated about asking him why. Finally, she decided that she was going to be married to him, she couldn’t be afraid to ask him questions.
“Does it bother you that they’re so close together?”
“I guess I was just thinking about birth control and how many children we might end up having if it’s not a thing, but… If I trust God, it shouldn’t matter. I hate to say that though, because there’s a lot of people who use birth control, and theyconsider themselves Christians who trust God as well. I just…think that it might be wise to pray about that some more.”
“That’s fine.” He was thinking about it. That was all she needed to see. If he made a decision against it, it would be fine, and if he was supporting her and what she believed, that would be just as well also. She gave him a thoughtful glance.
“You know whatever you decide will be okay with me?”
“Really?”
