I recently saw a post on Facebook that said: “The problem with the world today is that no one snaps green beans with grandma anymore.”

Maybe that’s true. I remember spending many hours each summer snapping beans, and shucking corn.

Both sets of grandparents had large gardens. Many weekends were spent helping them pick vegetables. As payment for the help, our family got a portion of the food. My mom and her mom would spend hot summer days canning every conceivable vegetable that would last our family through the winter months.

The garden memory that brings a smile to my face was picking ears of corn with my grandpa. As we sat in the backyard shucking the corn Nanny would be in the kitchen boiling the water for the corn and preparing the rest of dinner. I’m not sure I’ve tasted a fresher ear of corn.

As a child, I never enjoyed the work. But as an adult I certainly enjoy the memories. There are times when I can feel the clumps of dirt breaking between my fingers. I learned many lessons about family, hard work and the pride a family can experience when they provide for themselves from the soil of their own land.

Written in response to The Daily Post prompt: Soil