10 Life Lessons I Learned While Canning with My Kids

This was a one of a kind day the kids and I shared. Boy how I wish we had pictures to prove it! By the end of the day I decided that posterity ( and the rest of the world ) needed to have these life lessons recorded or it would be a disservice to mankind (and mommykind). So here goes:

1. Brandon can work by himself cutting, coring, and pureeing pears for 5 straight hours.
2. Children can be surrounded by food and still be starving because there is nothing to eat - which means that mom can't stop to fix something.
3. You can make brown sugar by adding molasses to white sugar, but if you ask Makaila to stir it and Logan to supervise you WILL be walking on sugar for the rest of the day - even after mopping the flour four times.
4. It will take Logan and Makaila 9 hours to mix 8 batches of cookie dough - not because they don't want to do it, but rather because cheap hand blenders do not like to mix more than one batch at a time.
5. Things you think you will never run out of, like baking soda, brown sugar, and lemon juice, will all run out on the same day, just not at the same time, and of course, after you've already gone to the store twice.
6. Every store in a 50 mile radius who should, could, or might carry the ONE thing you desperately need TODAY, will be out of it - add to that, every person who might have one that you could borrow is not home or does not answer their phone.
7. The reality of math and the reality of math in canning are two totally different realities because 5 apples per quart jar x 6 jars in one batch x 5 batches = 150 apples but does not equal 30 quarts of apple pie filling.
8. It takes Jessica and I almost 9 hours to peel, core, and cut 150 apples.
9. After 12 hours of working on apple pie filling, 18 quarts just doesn't seem like a fair trade.
10. But what makes it all worth while is GRATITUDE wrapped up in little Bryson as he tastes what we have done, his eyes getting as big a saucers and he gives you two thumbs up as he says, "Mmmmm! Mommy, this is deeeeeelicious! Thaaaaaaank you!"