A Patch of Heaven

I often enjoy watching the Waltons on TV because our lives seemed so similar. I grew up on a farm with five siblings but have to admit the Walton house was a little fancier than ours with that lovely front porch and dormer windows. 

Our sheet-iron roof pitched downward to small, sliding upstairs windows. Downstairs, the wind often caused the old, worn linoleum on the floor to rise and fall while curtains flared around drafty windows. And those bare, wood steps on the stairway were a delight to this energetic young girl, jumping over the last few descending ones against my mother’s wishes. 

But there was another difference. The Waltons had indoor plumbing and we didn’t. Nor did we have a television, telephone or even closets in the bedrooms. But we had outside haylofts to jump out of and a maze of hay bales to crawl through in the barn. There were ponds and creeks, as well as a junkyard up the dirt road to explore. There were also plenty of out buildings, including a silo, grain bin, smokehouse and more. 

I guess my favorite things on the farm were the baby animals, from curly-headed newborn calves to squealing piglets. And, when fuzzy, baby chicks needed special care, Daddy brought them to me. I would wrap them in a towel then place them in a metal bucket in front of my bedroom heater to keep the tiny chicks warm. It worked like an incubator and I felt like their mama. 

It was a great way to grow up and I sometimes miss hearing the slamming of that old screen door, drawing water from the well, and feeding sugar to Honey, our horse that would walk up onto the back porch and stick her head inside the open door for a treat. 

I also miss the two-story stone building where I attended twelve years of school, as well as the little country church and general store. But, most of all, I miss the people and the safe feeling of community that surrounded me in that little patch of heaven called “Wilson.”

About the Author

Louise Tucker Jones is an award-winning author, inspirational speaker & founder of Wives With Heavenly Husbands, a support group for widows. LouiseTJ@cox.net or LouiseTuckerJones.com.