Cutting Close to Home

My scissors feed my family. They are never in one place for long. If one were to write down a day in the life of these wonderful tools, it might look something like this:

6:30 AM: Scissors, let’s call them Snippy, are snuggled in the knife block on the kitchen cupboard, blissfully enjoying the last few minutes tucked away before the day begins and they are carried away on a flood of adventures. Footsteps are heard on the stairs as a five year old wipes the sleep from his eyes and catapults down to begin a new day. Mom stumbles after him, bleary eyed and desperate for coffee to keep up with his energy. Here is Snippy’s first rescue mission of the day! Although the aroma tantalizes mom’s sleepy nose, the new bag of grounds is sealed tight and she cannot put it open. One groggy hand reaches toward the knife block and mere seconds later the blissful sound of coffee brewing is infusing the kitchen with energy and hope.

Coffee in hand, mom and son head out the door to one of their favorite parts of the day. It’s early morning in the garden, with weeds to pull, water to sprinkle and veggies to pick. Snippy goes along, an invaluable tool in this daily ritual. Bird song floats through the crisp, clean air as happy fingers dig in the dirt. Scissors snip herbs and carefully pare away veggies from the vine while leaving the plants safely intact. Soon growling tummies will be full of home grown goodness and eggs from cheeky chickens.

9 AM: Breakfast is over, but dishes remain, so Snippy swiftly chews through the cord holding a bundle of new washcloths. Once everything is clean and tidy, one might think our fearless scissors are due for a little breather, but no, the day marches on! Today’s homeschool project is a mousetrap car, and Snippy is put to work cutting cardboard for the base and bamboo skewers for the axles. Such fun to watch from the countertop as hungry minds explore and learn with the help of a sharp pair of scissors

11:30AM Lunch prep begins. The seal on a bottle of teriyaki sauce stubbornly refuses to open until it finds itself no match for Snippy’s sharp blades. Noodles bubble in the pot as containers of tofu are also sliced open. In a matter of minutes, the cilantro cut from the garden that morning is sprinkled over the top of a delicious summer teriyaki salad and everyone sits down to a favorite family meal.

2:00 PM: After a brief respite, Snippy is carried outside by a brawny teenager. The heavy plastic of a pond liner passes between sharp metal and the pond (dug by hand by aforementioned boy-man) can now be filled with 1500 gallons of water, plants and fish. This is a project that was begun during the troubled days of covid-19 lockdown and it has been a source of comfort and joy for my sixteen year old, as he and his father spent quality time building it together, and our entire family. Without scissors, it would not exist.

7:00PM After enjoying the soft music of the pond fountain and being left outside by a slightly absentminded aquaculturist, Snippy can be found in the hands of a nine year old chicken herder and dog whisperer. Skillfully, she cuts through bags of animal feed as she prepares to tuck in her flock of a dozen beloved hand-raised hens for the night. The dog frolics behind the confident child in the growing twilight and also receives food for her hungry tummy.

9:00PM Everyone is tucked in to bed, including the scissors, back in the knife block to wait for the next morning full of promise. It has been another day of living a dream over a decade in the making. The life that I lead with my family is my creative outlet. It brings me joy, even while it also demands from me to be patient, imaginative and resourceful. Countless times throughout every day, some member of the crew asks for my kitchen scissors, as somehow they are the one pair of cutting utensils in the house that is almost always returned to their place and therefore available for the next project or adventure. A good sharp pair will last a long time and is an invaluable resource as we tackle the challenges of our small-scale homestead living project.