It’s been busy here at This Old Farm! Between the fair season, training new employees, and produce production climbing up and up, everybody has been rushing to get all their tasks done. As I sit in the office at 4:30 on the fourth, typing out this newsletter, I realize how nice it is to have a quiet workspace! Everybody is enjoying their break today, and I’m enjoying a nice, calm workplace, during daytime hours, for the first time ever!
Writing is certainly a passion of mine (though whether or not it is a skill is questionable, especially when I watch somebody edit my work!), so I figured writing the newsletter would be a nice way to give me a smile to carry with myself into the freezer. After which I’ll carry on to pack orders before heading to the farm for evening rounds, and fireworks! Fireworks on the farm are especially exciting! Without city regulations, and with a few rambunctious cousins and uncles, we all prepare ourselves for a fun evening!
Over the past couple weeks I’ve come to an interesting revelation. Growing up with a farm, good food, a processing facility, and surrounded by many people at work who have all taken part in teaching me how to work has been taken for granted. I never gave it a second thought as to how rare, and lucky I really am. My family took a trip to Kings Island for my brothers birthday this year, and as I waited in line I looked around and for the first time, realized that out of the hundreds of people around me, I was very likely the only one who could say that work wasn’t just work for me, it was a way of life. Farm chores, freezer trucks, packaging meat, and “the employees” are just part of living for me. I wouldn’t change that for the world.
So, here I sit on the Fourth of July, writing a newsletter, and realizing I’m actually happy with myself. You could say my parents “brainwashed” me to enjoy work, but I see that as too much of a gift to refer to it in such a negative connotation. My whole life (short as it may be so far) has been devoted to good food, and I would like to give a huge shout out to my parents for allowing that to happen, my fellow co workers, for being both friends and mentors as I’ve grown up, and you, the customer, for using your hard earned dollar to support the cause of good food. The fact that people are willing to pay for this food has made my way of life possible (not to mention my paycheck!), and I truly am thankful. To all of you, I hope you’ve had a wonderful Fourth of July, God Bless!
Sincerely,
Conner Smith