Well… I didn’t get too many pole beans off my plants. Most of them I picked too green and they got moldy. I should have let them dry on the vine more. That’s okay. I really don’t like to eat them anyway.

But I like the look of them and the feel of them. I ended up with a little jar of the beans, all hard and ready to store. I think next year I’ll try and grow white northern beans. I do like those. And I wonder what would be the best for baked beans. That’s another I like. My children hate beans. All kinds. Green, baked, pinto, northern, anything bean and they just want to curl up and hide. I’m not sure why, but I’m the only bean eater in the family.

I got to thinking about these beans and all. It’s really neat to see them and look at them, fiddle around with them. They feel substantial, and I like that I grew them. In my yard. In my beds. They represent a feeling of growing contentment that I have. Each little bean is one more step towards the life that I wanted, a simple life, one with a redemptive feeling and simple ways.

I’ve done a lot this past year. Bought and rehabbed this old moby was a major undertaking. Changed a lot of my life styles. Some simple, like ditching paper towels and paper products in the kitchen, and trying to buy locally and fresh, staying away from the big box places. I’ve gotten by now for a year and half without a dishwasher or a stove and oven. (I have a nice little toaster oven that does everything we need. And a hot plate and a few specialized appliances like a crock pot and a electric skillet.) Got a freezer, did lots of home renovations and all by hand. And put in over 600 square feet of gardens! Almost the same amount of my living space of 800! (Next year, we’ll have 800 square feet of gardens… you just wait!)

And yet, with each of these little “beans” of contentment that I count, I know there are more coming. Our debt load is getting less and less as we go. We’re still running paid for cars, and now we have two. (That is really nice to have, a backup just in case… With one old van, we were always living on the edge of disaster it seemed. Now there is a contentment that if we need to go somewhere, at least ONE of them will be running strong!) The pantry is full and the freezers are full, and we’re settling in for a nice comfortable winter. We’re learning to craft again, and to home cook instead of eating junk food out. We’re spending lots of time reading and just living. Comfortably. making music and having fun with hobbies. It’s just bliss.

I have half a mind to take a little thin Sharpy pen and write down each little bean of contentment I have found, and put them in my little jar. And when those dark times sneak in, and I have a bummer of a day, I’ll get my little jar out and take a peek at my little beans and hold them in my hand. And I’ll smile and remember that a little dark clouds now and then mean rain and good gardens and happy plants and trees and I’ll just wait it out. Dark times never last too long. Just snuggle up with a good book and hide for a little while and they will pass. And remember to count your blessings every day!