Where there are eggs, there must be chickens

My seven-year-old asked me a question in Walmart this summer (yes, we go there too!), and it stopped me in the middle of the aisle.

“Mom, where do they keep the chickens that laid all these eggs? Do they have coops behind the store?”

I smiled when it hit me.

My sweet, observant little boy is so used to seeing where his food comes from that it genuinely hadn’t occurred to him that food isn’t grown or made right where it’s sold.

In his world, eggs come from chickens. If there are eggs, then surely there must be chickens nearby.

In that moment, I realized just how different his childhood looks from most.

Different than his older siblings, who remember when all our food came from the grocery store, not our backyard.

They remember when we broke ground on our first garden and brought home chicks from Tractor Supply for the first time. 

I’m so glad we started on this journey where we were, and didn’t let what we didn’t have stop us. 

Y’all. My seven year old doesn’t see food as something that magically appears on shelves. 😭

 He sees it as the result of care, time, daily attention, and life. He knows that eggs mean hens, that meat means an animal, and that meals don’t begin in grocery-store aisles .

What an incredible way to see the world — to understand that food has an origin, that nourishment is connected to living things, and that nothing we eat exists without effort or cost.

My son knows that for us to live, something else has to give its life. That’s not a heavy or frightening concept for him — it’s simply reality.

I’m so very grateful he’s growing up with this connection. Not because it makes him “different” or “better,” but because it roots him in reality.

It teaches empathy. It builds competence. It gives him confidence in his own hands.

And the truth is, those are traits we could all use a little more of.

In a world where food is often processed, outsourced, and taken for granted, raising children who understand where nourishment comes from feels quietly revolutionary. 

This is what makes the work worth it. 

This is why we started with chickens and a garden in town, and why it’s still worth it to grow our own food now.  

What started as a search for relief from chronic ear infections and weekly migraines has slowly become a way of life.

 When I think about how overwhelmed I was at the beginning of all this and how it almost didn’t happen, my heart swells.

From my swollen heart to yours,

Brianne

PS- keep an eye out for your chance to participate in our Coop to Kitchen class coming up!