Mar 31 2010
Who is this “minnemom”?
It recently (while I was making lunch, to be exact) occurred to me that my blog readers know quite a bit about the places I’ve been with my kids. They know how we like to travel (minivan, no DVD player), they know where we like to travel (anywhere uncrowded), and they know when we like to travel (whenever possible). But my readers probably know very little about me, the one called “minnemom.”
The Travels with Children “About” page has a nice little story about how my travels began, and it’s a good place to start if you want an overview of my life and travels. Today, however, I’ll elaborate a little more. If you don’t really care who it is that writes these Travels-with-Children posts, now would be a good time to go get a cup of coffee or find some other diversion, because this post will be all about me. Self-centered, I guess, but that’s the way it is just this once.
For starters, I’m a farm wife. We farm in south-central Minnesota, and by “we” I mean mostly that my husband farms and I help make the decisions about spending thousands of dollars on new equipment. We’re what’s known as crop farmers, which means that we grow corn and soybeans and wheat, but don’t have any animals, so if you want to come visit us on the farm, don’t expect to see cows or chickens or pigs or even a dog. Not all farms have animals.
My husband also has a second job that is closely related to the first; he is a crop consultant. This means that he advises other farmers about varieties of seed to plant, which fertilizers and pesticides to use, and when to be concerned about things that could damage crops. This crop consulting work involves bumping around fields on a four-wheeler that has a laptop computer and precise GPS on board to take soil samples, getting those samples to a laboratory, and then mapping the resulting nutrient levels and relaying the information to the farmer. Agriculture is increasingly a precision field, based on levels of data and scientific information and best practices in order to produce the best crops while leaving the soil and environment in the best possible condition for future use. He has a college degree, as do many farmers, and from now through Thanksgiving he’ll work 12-15 hour days, 5-7 days a week, with only a few days off.
But enough about him. I said this post was to be all about me.
I, too, grew up on a farm, in North Dakota, where my dad and his brothers raised wheat, durum (pasta grain), barley (dusty), sunflowers (the oil kind, not the kind you eat), and hogs. Although my dad and uncles did the bulk of the farm work, everyone was expected to help once they reached truck-driving age. (North Dakotans get their drivers license at age 14, so driving truck begins young.) I spent many hours hauling grain and waiting in the fields, listening to am radio or reading a book until it was time for the combine to dump into the truck.
My hometown was indeed small, with a population of 76 people when I lived there, all of whom I could list on a map of the town if the need arose. (Somehow there was never a real need for that, however, so my skill went untapped.) I attended a “consolidated” school, which meant kids from three different towns went there, and my graduating class had ten. No, that isn’t a typo; there were seven boys and three girls for a total of ten of us. (The class ahead of me was all girls and chose pink as their class color.)
After graduation, I headed down the road to the University of North Dakota, and after that got my master’s degree in library science at Indiana University. I was armed with a teaching license for K-12 English and became a school librarian, or media specialist as it’s sometimes called. I worked in a small-town school in Iowa, then married and moved here to Minnesota, where I worked for two other small districts before having my first child.
Now my job is that of “mom” and my primary hobby has become this blogging thing. I had four babies in five years, and as they grow and learn, I love showing them the world, or as much of it as I can afford. They’re smart kids, if I do say so myself, and we find that visiting museums and traveling to new places allows an enrichment that nicely complements their academics. (And no, I don’t homeschool, although that seems to be the most common question for a mother of more than two children who brings her entire brood to a museum.)
We like to stay off the beaten path, partly because I really dislike crowds. (Can you blame me, after having only 120 students in my K-12 school?) Even if we go to a popular destination–an amusement park or well-known museum–we do our best to pick a time when it won’t be so busy. The other reason we stay off the beaten path is because it tends to be more affordable. We’ve considered a Disney trip, and everyone tells me it’s absolutely magical for kids, but I always get sticker shock when I start to run the numbers. Yes, the back roads and lesser-known destinations have brought us a lot of enjoyment.
My husband is great at recognizing that these kids are going to grow up too fast, and that soon they’ll be off on their own, so we’re doing our best to take vacations with them while they’re still here with us. We’ve had to be creative, taking our “summer” vacations in winter, or settling for quick weekend trips to interesting nearby places, and sometimes it’s a lot of fun to have to come up with fun times with limited time and money.
You may have noticed that I very seldom post photos of my kids and that I don’t mention their names in blog posts; this is a conscious decision on my part. I fully realize that once something’s on the Internet, there’s no pulling it back in. (This is evidenced by a search for my maiden name, which will pull up a recipe that I posted on the usenet group rec.food.recipes, circa 1994. Does anyone even know what a usenet group is any more?) I also want to protect my children’s privacy, and to someday give them the option of publishing their photos. I’m not sure I’d like having my own geeky grade-school pictures posted online for all to see, so I’ll let my kids make that decision when they’re older. Right or wrong, I have little quirky ideas like this, and that’s why you’ll rarely see photos of my kids online.
Other than that, there’s not a lot else to tell. I’m on Facebook and Twitter; I’d be honored if you’d follow me there.
Thanks for allowing me this chance to tell my story, and if you made it this far, for reading the whole long drawn-out thing. I promise to return to regularly-scheduled programming now. Thanks for reading Travels with Children.
I really liked this post Linda. It helped round you out a bit. I enjoyed the background stories.
I did think you homeschooled since you live out in the “country”. Now you’ll lose saint points for not homeschooling.
I too have come across many people at zoos, museums, etc that think I homeschool just because I have more than two kiddos. Most of the time they’re really nice and give us special treatment. Is it because they think the kids will be tested later?
Before I married my husband, I had no idea there was so much technology involved in farming. His family dairy farmed but they also planted corn, peanuts and something else to feed the cows. By the time the sold the farm land several years ago, they were using GPS to plant straight rows and automatic milkers to milk the cows. I was very surprised.
BTW-we live in a small community now…my oldest son’s 3rd grade has 15 kids in it total! My graduating class was over 300 kids, that’s more than what’s enrolled in his school K-12. I think that was the hardest adjustment we had to make when we moved to MN from TN.
Great introduction to the world of YOU!
Jenn´s last blog ..Fast n Easy Trail Mix Cookie Bar Recipe
WONDERFUL post Linda. I learned all kinds of GREAT things about. It was truly a treat to read. I thought my graduating class of 30 was small (15 boys and 15 girls) but you have me beat.
I don’t have kids and I abide by the ‘go when it’s less busy’ motto as well. I don’t enjoy crowds and have always opted for the off-road options to the neon lit attractions.
Thanks for sharing!!
Cathy Spicer´s last blog ..Keep the Faith…..
Theresa–
Lose saint points? Say it ain’t so! I do get the homeschooling question a lot. I might consider homeschooling if we didn’t have a parochial school for our kids, but our local public schools are quite good as well.
Linda
Jenn,
I always loved the sense of community growing up in a small town where everyone knew everyone. Even though our hometown now is slightly larger (around 800 people), I really like that I see people I know everywhere I go. When I gave blood last week, I was “racing” with my neighbor, asked about another neighbor’s wife who is ill, saw three ladies from the extension group I used to be part of, saw several people from church, and talked to the butcher (now retired) from the grocery store (now closed).
Some people don’t like that, because everyone knows your business if you’re not careful, but it’s something I enjoy.
Re: the technology in farming, my husband’s latest endeavor is to rig up a wireless receiver to the grain bin two miles away so he can adjust the fans from the house rather than sleeping on a couch in the shop during corn-drying season. He uses his BlackBerry for a ton of farm-related reasons and has auto-steer and a yield monitor. It gets more technical every year.
Thanks for the note.
Linda
Ah, Cathy, the big “T” was indeed big in our eyes. 30 in a class–that was huge for Class B! The thing our hometowns had in common, though, was gravel streets.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
Linda
The one thing I love about you and your blog is that you have an unique perspective on travel with kids. It obviously comes from your history, and that shows in everything you write.
p.s. I love Disney, but it’s not always that magical for kids.
Ah from one small town ND farming woman to another, I loved this post and I have truly enjoyed connecting with your blog. It gives me all sorts of ideas to do with our family in the Midwest–and to be brave to travel with them.
I LOVED learning more about Minnemom! Boy, I enjoy your writing — even if I don’t tell you that often — whether you’re writing about yourself, the farm or your offbeat travels. Don’t ever stop.
Thanks, Carolina–I’m glad you enjoy reading my perspective. Thanks for the note about Disney–if we ever go, I’ll try to just enjoy it and not have too high of expectations!
Linda
Katie–
I’ve enjoyed connecting with another ND farm gal as well. There’s a lot of fun to do with your kids there, so your travels can be as close to home or as far away as you wish.
Linda
Kara–
Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot coming from one of my family-travel heroes.
Linda
This was such a fun post to read, Linda. I spent summers in a little rural town in Minnesota so your posts about local adventures always touch me with a bit of nostalgia.
Just a thought about “small town” vs “big town”, if you find the right community and become involved in it you will often find yourself surrounded by friends and neighbors. Since heading off to college at age 18 I have always lived in “beach towns”. In Santa Cruz were I went to college and continued to live for several years I would often run into my former T.A. at the Christmas parade or one of my former students walking my dog on the local bike/walking path that went along the ocean.
I’ve since moved on to a southern California beach town and continued to be amazed about how a reasonably big town can sometimes seem so small. At mass on Sunday I saw a number of neighbors as well as my son’s cub scout pack master. I love the feeling of living in a community of familiar faces and hope that my children can continue to enjoy that.
I love your writing and enjoy having this place to stop by for a visit and dream of some fun road trips or rural discoveries. I know that San Diego is quite a trek for you, but if you find yourself here I would love to introduce you and your family to some of our favorite haunts.
Have a blessed Easter,
Bridget
Family Adventure Guidebooks
Bridget Smith´s last blog ..Happy Easter From Our Family to Yours!
Bridget, I think you’re exactly right–some big cities have a small-town feel to them, and you can find a sense of community even in the midst of a metropolitan area. Thanks for the San Diego invite!
Linda