When the snow starts flying, I always think of family gatherings and all the preparations that go into them.

For some people, the holidays mean traveling; for others, it means preparing for visitors. This year may not be the same, but we still need to celebrate the holidays that are dear to our families.

For most farm families, daily routines can’t be set aside. Jeff Foxworthy put it this way: “If you’re not allowed to open your gifts until you’re done in the barn on Christmas morning, you might be a dairy farmer’s kid.”

This definitely describes how it was at our house when our boys were growing up.

It’s been over 25 years since we’ve milked cows on this farm, but the memories of Christmas morning still bring smiles to our faces. A couple of memories still stand out.

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One year my two sons and two of their cousins piled into a car to go feed heifers. The youngstock were housed in a barn about 5 miles from the main farm, so for them to go without an adult was a real milestone.

After my sister-in-law had gotten a job in town, she wasn’t in the barn each day anymore. On Christmas morning, though, she would pull out the nicest-looking hay and fill the hay bunk. The cows got a special Christmas treat.

My in-laws would join us and lend a hand. My mother-in-law enjoyed being back in the milking parlor to hear all the news and to banter with the boys.

Scurrying to get things done before church and school programs was always a challenge. My husband didn’t always get there. Calves would arrive or machinery would break down at the most inopportune times.

The kitchen was full of cookies and candy-making. Boxes were filled with treats to share with others. We mailed out cards to all our friends and relatives, a tradition that, unfortunately, has gone by the wayside. Touching base with friends across the country during the holidays has morphed into emails or social media messages.

Changing times

The world is constantly changing. As we get older, we are changing, too.

The boys have families of their own now, and none of them are milking cows. Those Christmas memories are treasured memories for us all.

Many children today don’t have multigenerational families close to them. My boys’ cousins were their first friends and their best friends. They also had several other cousins who liked to visit the farm.

Many families dread the day when their 16-year-old starts driving. For us, it was time for someone else to jockey people back and forth to the fields, or just to get themselves back to school for after-school activities. This freed me up to do other things.

We can’t bring those days back, but each Christmas, the boys talk about growing up here. I’m not sure the grandchildren get the importance of these memories, since none of them grew up on a farm.

For me, it’s always a delight listening to them talk about their Christmas morning adventures.

Gregg writes from western Pennsylvania. She is the Pennsylvania 2019 Outstanding Woman in Agriculture and is a past president of American Agri-Women.