Ethan was so excited he could hardly keep his feet on the ground.
We drove down the long country road and up ahead we could see the trees planted in careful rows and bent sometimes to the ground with red orbs of fruit. By now Ethan was bouncing with excitement – a good time to remind him of the rules of apple picking in an orchard. Then we drove past the pumpkin patch and his excitement overflowed until all of us were caught up in anticipation of the activities ahead.
Even though the day was overcast and threatening rain, the parking lot was fairly crowded as we made our way carefully between family groups and kids pulling wagons loaded with produce. Ethan crowed with delight when he saw two kids sitting on huge pumpkins in a wagon pulled by their grandfather.
We purchased the largest bag available for apple harvesting and made our way into the orchard. “Where are the apples we want to pick?” Ethan wanted to know. Becki pointed out that each row was marked by a clear sign telling the type of apple trees planted in that row. As a further reinforcement, Becki made Ethan read the sign of rules before we began, he read without hesitation. We made our way to the Ida Red row and tried to decide with which tree to begin. The trees loaded with ripe red fruit beckoned with promises of pies, and sauce, and apple-crisp, and dried apples and…
Ethan’s first attempt at picking resulted in harvesting twin apples and he held them as he would some precious treasure. Soon, however, the bag was full and we debated about purchasing a second bag, but Becki knew it would take her awhile just to deal with the harvest we had.
We took our loaded bag back to the car and returned to select a few pumpkins. The patch held an overwhelming number of orange and green fruits of every size and shape imaginable. It took us quite awhile to find one giant specimen that fit Ethan’s needs for carving and then a smaller one for decoration. We lugged these two orange beauties back to the stand and Grandma picked out a warty pumpkin for herself from the wagon.
It was time for a treat break so with cups of hot cider and a bag of apple donuts we headed to one of the picnic tables. We watched as dark clouds scudded across the sky. Refortified with the treats we went into the barn and looked at the numerous apple and pumpkin related crafts and products available. Ethan walked out with a jar of calico popping corn and Grandma had a jug of cider.
The dark clouds continued to pile up, but we decided we could risk a hay ride, especially since the wagon had a roof over the hale bales. Two trips around the orchard was a delightful amount of rest and gave us an overview of at least a part of the orchard.
Grandma was dropped at home to begin supper while the rest of the gang went to see the “Squash Guy” here in Janesville. Supper was just about ready when the gang returned loaded down with squash and gourds of every shape and size imaginable. Aunt Deb and the two dogs arrived soon after and we gathered around the table to enjoy a hot meal and recount the delights of the day. While the rest of the gang cleaned up after the meal, Ethan and I went downstairs to raid Grandma’s “Fall Box”. Ethan chose a number of dried seed pods, nuts and other decorations some of which he would take home, the rest to “play” with then. We carried his bounty upstairs and soon he had rows of “harvest” laid out on the living room floor. As he displayed them in rows of like items, he named them using all the different names of squash he knew. When he ran out of names he knew, he made up likely sounding names based on seed catalogs, identifying books, visits to the Farmers Market (in both Janesville and Chicago).
Ethan loves to know the names of things. He wants to know the name of all the flowers in any garden he sees. He wanted to know the names of all the apples, all the squash, all the gourds, all the… He is enchanted when he finds a new book at the library that helps him identify the names of any number of things (shells, leaves, trees, flowers, insects, reptiles…well, you get the idea). He not only wants to know the common names, but he loves knowing the Latin names. He is unaware that quoting Latin might sound precocious and even arrogant he just wants to know.
He went off to kindergarten this year, after 3+years of preschool, and we all held our breath. We called him when he got home from his first day and he excitedly told us that he was learning Spanish, had Art, had Phy Ed. and… The only reason he is able to have all these different classes is the parents in their neighborhood in Chicago raised enough money on their own to pay for the extra teachers. We (his parents, grandparents and aunts) wonder what will happen when Ethan knows more than his teachers, but we will cross that bridge when it happens.
To our mutual delight Ethan wants to learn!
He has a thirst for knowledge, to know the names of things, to know how to grow things, how to cook things, how to play certain games, how to…
Bill and I get immense joy participating in contributing to his knowledge. What a privilege we have!
Hopefully some day Ethan will also have a great thirst to know more and more about God, about being his child, about how it works to be a Christian in this crazy world we live in.
As I get older, my thirst to know God seems to grow instead of diminishing. The more I learn, the more I want to know, to understand, to figure out. I can’t seem to get enough. My favorite kind of friend is one who will discuss with me, debate with me, share with me about their own knowledge of God and themselves and how it all fits together. I am blessed beyond words that my husband and my family fill this role, and God has given me many friends besides.
There are days when it seems like Ethan would rather learn, and revel in his knowing, than play with the fabulous toys that are available for kids these days.
Oh that each of us would thirst so to know God, and find it more satisfying that the most elaborate entertainment that man can devise. The Psalmist says, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is GOOD, His love endures forever.”
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