Yesterday my son took Camera House for a walk and last night he wrote these words for you and me. He and his family will be going back to wintry New Zealand in a few days and he wanted to add his voice to the blog for a moment.
I am so proud of him and his wee family. They make a startling team. Life is a collection of fleeting moments, we desperately try to collect and capture them with all our digital devices and lever them into our memories but he has gently gathered them into my hand with his words.
Here is Senior Son:
I’ve visited the little farm on two occasions. Somehow this trip has been different. There is the obvious, its the height of summer, as opposed to the two previous midwinter trips. The landscape is green and lush as opposed to grey and bleak. But that’s not it…
Our new family has traveled from New Zealand, my stunning wife and beautiful new born babe. Driving up the limestone drive I was reminded that our six month old baby will remember none of the days to come. We wondered aloud if the farm would make an impression on her subconscious, it’s nice to suppose it would, just for the joy of the idea.
In a few short years we will no doubt come back for another trip, and I imagine us sitting around the dinner table back in NZ before departing talking with our daughter about what she can expect from grandma’s farm, and it’s this lens that has been in the back of my mind. A kind of anticipated future nostaglia, a strange concept.
On the first night we saw the magic of fireflies for the first time, bright pins of light dancing in the dusk. My first thought was to store this moment away for future child bedazzlement. What other stories would we regale our young daughter with about a trip that she couldn’t remember. “There are many wonderful animals, pigs, chickens, cows, peacock, cats, and your favourite, two dogs!”
“There are vegetables, fruit and fields that stretch to the horizon. Grandma’s kitchen is always busy, help yourself if you’re hungry, don’t forget to help out with the washing up. There is a dark and mysterious barn where animals go to sleep and stay safe.”
“There is a long path that snakes along the rise out back and leads to another barn across the creek, more pigs, more cows, hay and lawns to mow for pocket money.”
“Count the pigs, make sure none have jumped the electric fence and gone off to the pub, One, two, three, four – tahi, rua, toru, wha.”
“The farmy is a magical place, full of excitement and awe. It is a practical place too, life grows from the soil to fill our bellies.”
“Most important of all, it’s where we find grandma. Hauling the hoses, feeding the animals and weeding the rows. We talk to her in the kitchen, and play on the lawn, we laugh at silly Boo sleeping on his back with legs up in the air.”
It is something special to visit this piece of the world. But in the end, even its expansive majesty pales next to the joy of spending time with family.
Much love to you and your family.
SB
The Kitchen's Garden 
57 responses to “Through the Eyes of my Son”
Beautiful. Brought me to tears. Xo
I think your entire family must have the creative souls and wisdom of past lives to express yourselves so beautifully. Safe travels.
Dear Senior Son: Kristy is not the only one from the Fellowship who will have been brought to tears. We owe you a big debt for your talent in showing us the magic of the farmy from so many new and different viewpoints . . . . for telling us your personal story – but most of all methinks all of us will be wondrously glad that you and your darling wife and a little girl. who will remember the journey thru’ photos and tales, have made ‘our Miss Celi’ happy. A safe trip home: it has been a warm winter here in Australia and we all are speaking of spring . . . daresay it will be similar for you . . . thank you . . .
Thank you, Eha, for putting my thoughts into words.
The farmy is such a special place, and you, Senior Son , have captured it’s essence! Beautiful words and photos. Safe travels for you and your family.
Words for a lifetime of memories, those past and those still to come. He’s your boy, for sure. He has the same way with words as you do, the same eye for the perfect image. Haerenga haumaru kāinga hoki…
What a beautiful post full of sentiment. Although your daughter is too young to remember it will be safely tucked away in her subconscious forever. Have a safe trip home. Love from France.
How lovely! Here’s to you visiting sooner rather than later again.
🙂 Mandy xo
“Most important of all, it’s where we find grandma. Hauling the hoses, feeding the animals and weeding the rows. We talk to her in the kitchen, and play on the lawn, we laugh at silly Boo sleeping on his back with legs up in the air.” It is something special to visit this piece of the world. But in the end, even its expansive majesty pales next to the joy of spending time with family.
Well said Senior Son. Safe travels to you and your family. Thank you for visiting us here on the Farmy blog.
Oh, Wow! This brought tears to my eyes and put hope in my heart. It is heartwarming to see our live through the eyes of another, but, especially through the eyes of a son, now viewing with the eyes and the heart of a father. This would make a wonderful book, and it ends so poignantly with your son’s words “even its expansive majesty pales next to the joy of spending time with family.”
Well said, all of it!
A beautiful post today from your very talented writer & artist son. What a wonderful father & husband & son he is. Through my tears, I thank you for this memorable edition of the blog. I’m so glad you’ve all had this brief summer time together. Safe happy journey home to the wee family & come back as soon as you can.
Lovely to see the farm through your son’s eye and he seeing it as if through his baby daughter’s. What a beautiful time it must have been. I’m sure she will have inhaled the smells and sounds, the voices and the light – all that will be there, deep and precious, spun into all that magic of learning about the world.
What a beautiful way to look at things! You are truly blessed!
Lovely post! So nice to read of the wonderful time had by all, and the memories that will be shared in times to come. xo
Truly special, snd very generous to share with us. Thanks.
That is a son with a heart big enough to carry his entire family with him wherever his journey goes.
I loved this. He’s very poetic. Memory making is best when with family. How fun to have a 6 month old in the house ; ) Enjoy every moment of the visit.