Growing up on a farm, while uncommon now, was reality for many kids growing up in 1940’s Wisconsin. This is where Sharon Maes started her life.
Her mornings, evenings and nights were filled with the farm duties that she had known since she could walk. Milking cows, along with feeding chickens and raiding their nests for eggs were a few of the daily tasks that engulfed her childhood.
With no houses within at least a quarter-mile and one other boy in her grade at school, friends were few and far between. The few she managed to keep in touch with would seldom be seen in summer due to the never-ending list of farm chores.
“You don’t have a ton of social life,” Maes said. “We milked at 5:30 and about quarter to eight we got done milking, but by then I was too tired to do homework. Most of the time I’d fall asleep.”
Even though she was balancing school with her life on the farm, she was always looking for ways to help out. This trend continued throughout her life. From her day jobs to raising her four children, she was always putting herself to work.
“I think farm kids had a work ethic that was different from city kids,” Maes said. “Now that I’m retired, I do have a different work ethic.”
Yet she wouldn’t let you know it.
To me, Sharon Maes is grandma. She’s the one that won’t let you help out in the kitchen. She’s the caring soul that won’t even think about sitting down until she’s made you a bologna sandwich and refilled your water bottle. She’s the attentive listener who won’t begin to talk about her life until she’s caught up with all the drama and chaos of yours. That’s who she is.
Her hardworking soul never left during retirement, she just shifted her work behind the scenes.
She still finds ways to pitch in whenever she can, swiftering the floors of my childhood home every day when she visits, making batch after batch of the best chocolate and peanut butter bars on the planet, and taking your plate after dinner before you even realized you were done eating.
While I definitely didn’t grow up on a farm, and my work ethic is not nearly as strong as hers, the effect she has had on me is unquantifiable. For starters, she raised the best mother I could ask for.
She taught me so much about how to truly care about others. She showed me that it’s okay to like helping and that insisting on helping out is the right thing to do, even if the person gets annoyed.
She taught me to look beyond the cover a person often shows to others. She showed how important it was to show you care, not just say it.
She truly changed my life in the best way possible, but she’s not perfect. Like myself, she can struggle to put herself first. I know it sounds awful, but it’s true. She will serve her family and friends in whatever way she can, but sometimes I wish she’d do what’s best for HER.
But that’s not who she is. She’s grandma, tried and true. She’ll have cookies in your lunch and keep some extra in the freezer in case you stop by. Someone I hope everyone has the pleasure of meeting, because she’ll enjoy meeting you.
My time on this planet with her has been a blessing, one I hope to continue to enjoy for many years to come.
Thank you, grandma, for being you.
