Back in the day (that is my kids’ favorite time period), there seemed to be a “Brunton uniform” that all the guys on the farm wore. Work boots, jeans (my dad wore the same Wrangler ones from WalMart since I can remember. We would give him 2 pairs of those jeans and a bag of Twizzlers every Father’s Day.), a blue sleeveless button-down collared shirt (with the top 2-3 buttons unbuttoned which gave them all a nice V neck farmers’ tan), a red Brunton Dairy hat, and a watch with a silver stretchy wristband. That was the summer attire for my grandfather, dad, uncle, and oldest brother and if you saw someone from far away, you would guess who they were by their build and/or posture.
In the winter, everyone wore something different, but in the summer, they would look odd if they weren’t in that blue shirt. I get it. I wear the same outfit 90% of the time…jeans and a black shirt. What am I going to wear today? This black shirt because the other one is dirty. Done. Now I can move on with my day and save my mental energy for other things like “what should I make for dinner?” and “where did Leah hide my deodorant?”
So the other day, we are leaving the farm and we see my brother Jim in the skid loader. He waves, and we stop to say “Hello.” My brother Jim only sticks around to talk to me if I have my kids. (I have decided to not take it personally because, well, I’d rather have him tease them than me!) Today was no different. He opens the back door and starts teasing the girls, asking them stupid questions, trying to get someone in trouble and letting M&M play with his hat. M&M love Uncle Jim. For a while, they called all their uncles “Jim” and let’s just say, Jim had a little bit of a big head about it.
As the kids are enjoying their short car visit with Jim. I grab my camera that is in the seat beside me and start snapping pictures of Maggie in Jim’s hat. He is kind of leaning into the car and has his hand on the back of the seat. There it is. That silver stretch band wristwatch. Yep, Jim still wears that Brunton uniform. And it’s kind of special because since Gramps and Dad have passed, there are more people that don’t wear the “Brunton uniform” on the farm than do. And that tiny detail that is in just one of those pictures took me back to my childhood on the farm. I guess you just never know what tiny detail is going to spark a memory and I am so thankful I have some good ones.
Here’s a funny, embarrassing story from my childhood: One summer day, I got to go with Jim, Gramps and Dad to a farm sale. I have no idea what sale it was, where it was, or if we bought anything. But I do remember afterwards, they all were standing in a circle with one of the other farmers talking. As a bored little girl, I hugged on my dad and rested my head on his belly. Then I moved to Gramps. And then to the next guy in line. He was an old man too and thought the face I gave him when I realized he was not my dad or grandfather was priceless!
This is a picture of Gramps that hangs on my fridge (notice the “uniform”). We kind of tease Jim that he is “Gramps” in personality and stature. One day, Molly points at this picture and says “Jim.” Yep, his name is Jim and, yep, Uncle Jim is kind of really like him (including the fact that he married a girl who always has candy in the house. MomMom had the rule of “You can have as much candy as you want after 9am…so there was always candy in the house.).
Thanks for reading. Enjoy your day!!