I AM rich.

So, now that I have your attention..no, I am not independently wealthy..Heck, we struggle from week to week just to keep our heads above water...like most Americans now day.s But, I AM rich.....I was out at the barn this morning...doing my chores...and as I settled in to milk...I started thinking. ( I know, dangerous for me )  I AM rich.....We have a home, to shelter us from storms, and to welcome friends and family to share and make memories.....we have land...when worked properly will produce food for us to eat...we have animals...that with proper care and management will provide us with eggs, milk and meat for years to come. But...most of all...I am rich with friends. Friends who help me when I need them, even if it is just listening to my woes. Friends who will help me bring in a harvest...or tend to the garden..or carry loads of firewood to help heat my home. I am rich in knowledge, to do these things that help us to survive. I can manage animals...grow food....put food by for winter months...and...I have a man that stands with me during these times. See, I AM rich...with knowledge...friends..and family. As I sit here, eating a slice of home made bread, toasted and covered in the jelly I made from last years berries...I thank God....for all we have, even tho some may look at us with pity in their eyes...we work hard, worry about things like weather, composting, and animal health...while some friends and family worry about bank accounts, social events, and which restaurant to eat at. I ask for NO pity.....I ask for understanding. Understand...that I LOVE my way of life...the healthy foods I can prepare for us, and them when they come...understand that even tho at any given time you might find me with an injured hen in my lap, tears running down my face knowing I must end her life to save her from suffering......understand that when I am delivering a new goat kid into this world, or a lamb...my tears are of joy and wonder. And, understand, that at the days end, when you are sleeping soundly in your bed, I may be the one out there on watch, foregoing sleep, with a rifle in my hands to protect our farm from predators, be it two legged or four. Because I get my milk fresh from a teet, and you get yours from a florescent lit store, it is I who pity you. You do not know they joy of holding a bawling wet lamb in your arms...or a fuzzy peeping chick.....or know the taste of TRUE vine ripe vegetables. I hold my head high even tho I may be covered in dirt from time to time...my back aching from hard work..my hands sore and blistered from working a garden. I AM rich.