Although terms like “organic,” “sustainable,” and “fair trade” have become commonplace at grocery stores, most people probably don’t think too much about where the food they eat comes from, to say nothing of the work that goes into producing it.
All that hard work can strain family relations. Katie Spence Pugh and her husband Eugene are farmers in western Tennessee. After one especially long day, she was at a breaking point, fed up with the life they were living. She sent him an angry text, venting all her frustrations. But then when she saw their daughter Charlotte join her dad at the kitchen counter, everything changed and she wrote a post that’s spread like wildfire on social media.
“I was tired. I was irritated. … The full time job, cooking dinner, bathing kids, weekend trips without him, keeping up a home, you name it I was resenting it. … He came in, fixed his plate and sat down to eat all alone. He was tired. He was hot. He was exhausted. Rather than complain, he said he was sorry I was tired and felt that way. Charlotte joined him and talked his head off and even ate most of his dinner. He didn’t complain. He shared, and it hit me. … Farmers work in a thankless profession. … This is a man who is working to uphold 4 generations of blood sweat and tears and showing his children the value of hard work and discipline. … I got to snuggle and love on them for 3 hours more than he did. He is the one sacrificing, not me. We will keep on keeping on until the next rainy day when we get a few extra hours with our hard worker. In the meantime, the next time you slip into that comfy cotton shirt or eat delicious farm fresh food, thank a farmer.”
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