Table Talk

My pain threshold, and stomach, for topics of discussion at the dinner table has really gotten a lot stronger. I can stomach discussions about labor, delivery, and all the goo in between as I dish out chili soup and crackers.

"So then the calf's feet were sticking out and..."
"Please pass the bread."

"And then I had to get the chains and pull like heck.."
"Please pass the salt."

"And when the afterbirth came..."
"What's for dessert?"

I have mellowed and don't turn green as much as I used to. Maybe that's from being a farm wife, or maybe it's just from having four kids...maybe it's from the five years I have had to learn to tune out the gory details.

I'm not sure.

When this information comes from Joe's mouth, it's not a big deal. However, when Anna, our six-almost-seven (as she says) year old, starts to spout off details, that is another story.

There's just something about my sweet little girl talking about water bags and feet and afterbirth that seems wrong to me. The town kid who wrinkled her nose at Grandma's dusty road kicks in. I can just imagine my little darling daughter sitting down at the school lunch table and spouting off about the calves she helped nurse or the one that needed Dad's help with chains.

I think I need to write a note to all the kids in her class, directing them to this blog, and offering my apologies.

While I do think Anna should keep her gory table talk limited to other farm kids and maybe just at home, isn't she just spouting off what is natural and interesting in her world? Isn't she doing basically what I'm doing, just in her first grade manner? I should be celebrating the fact that she jumps off the bus, grabs a snack and hops in the truck to do chores with her dad, not returning to the house until dinner time, right? She's learning how to appreciate and understand the neat life that we're creating here, right?

I know I have written about this before, but it never ceases to amaze me how my daughter is advocating at her own level. Her table talk isn't loaded with pretense and preconceived notions. She's just spouting off information in its purest sense.

As long as I can stomach this discussion, I will continue to praise her efforts. That is, until breeding comes along...