Farm Dreams

I have a confession to make: I have been planning this moment for a long time.

More than two years ago, Lovett and I went to visit Essex Farm to see their piglets. Lewis came along and was interested for a little while, but Lovett was enthralled: by the little babies running around, by the attentive moms, by the incredible size difference between baby and mama, and of course, by the utter cuteness of a piglet.

As dinnertime came and went and I continued to check my watch, I tried to pull Lovett away, which proved to be about as difficult as pulling myself away. As hunger finally took over and we managed to extricate ourselves out of the barn, Lovett turned to me and said, "Papa, can we have piglets on our farm?"

I can admit now that in that moment, I had a vision of piglets on our farm, Lovett helping me care for them, and a general feeling of me, Lovett, and our family growing together with a group of pigs. 

When I say "vision" I mean that literally, I am a visual person, and my memory and mind works in images. I saw Lovett and me kneeling in our barn with piglets all around us.

I can see now, in hindsight, how that vision has shaped many choices over the years, all the questions I have asked different pig farmers and pig breeders, and the decision we made over a year ago to begin investing in and building our own breeding stock.

This week, I felt as though I was able to live a piece of that vision.

On Tuesday, after Lovett got home from school, she wanted to go down and see the pigs with me. So we went down and sat in the barn, and sat there long enough to really let the animals get used to us and come investigate. 

Many of the piglets were curious, nibbling our fingers and our pants, and a couple of the mamas came up to say hello as well. Once again, Lovett did not want to leave.

The magic of being part of this gigantic blended family, over 50 piglets and 7 mamas, was real for both of us.

Once again, hunger pushed us home. On our way back, Lovett told me, in her eight-year-old words that are so difficult to recreate: "I love this, Papa. I love being with the animals. I feel so at home here."

Thank you Lovett for sharing these moments with me.​