Could the end of Roloff Farm be near?
This question has been asked before, of course.
We've been wondering for months whether Matt Roloff would get sick of owning the property and move full-time to Arizona with girlfriend Caryn Chandler.
Now, however, we have yet another reason to pose this same inquiry, following Tuesday night's episode of Little People, Big World
On this installment of the beloved reality show, Matt, Caryn, Amy Roloff, Chris Marek and the entire family got together for a rare huge gathering.
“It’s like herding cats to get everyone together,” the father of four said early on. “But [once a year] we get together and snap a family photo.”
With pumpkin season on the horizon, easily the farm's busiest and most profitable time of year, one would have assumed that Matt would have been in an especially upbeat mood on the episode.
But one therefore would have been mistaken.
Matt revealed that the season “takes a toll” on him every year and that such a feeling has only grown worse as he's grown older.
“I’m really starting to asses how much physical energy I want to put into this. Everybody gets to be my age, late 50s, and you start to think about retirement,” Matt said on air, adding:
“I mean, the south side of the farm is safe, I’m gonna build over there and I’m probably gonna die on that side.
"But as far as the north side of the farm, that is up in the air, for sure.”
As previously mentioned, Matt has said before that he's open to selling the farm.
He has never sounded as exasperted as he did during this episoode, however.
Amy, meanwhile, who solid her segment of the land to Matt last year, admitted it was “a possibility” that this could mark her last time working at the pumpkin farm.
It really is starting to feel like the end of a Roloff era.
“I think how we decide on the future of the farm will dictate how involved I continue to be or not be,” she explained.
“If Matt chooses to still continue on with pumpkin season, I’ll choose to be a part of it as best I can, but by moving off the farm, just separation of family...
"I will always feel a disconnect of some sort.”
It's true: at this juncture, Amy has officially moved off the property and lives about 15 minutes away.
Sadly, this episode was also filmed back in late September, when Amy's mom passed away.
"My mom was 86 and she passed before my parents celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary and you know, she was just having some health issues," Amy told viewers.
"Eventually they found out that it was her heart. So her heart was starting to give up."
Amy had to fly to Michigan for the memorial service.
This meant that Amy ended up missing pumpkin season for a very personal and understandable reason.
Tearing up on the episode, Amy said her mother's death made her reflect on her own life, a common occurrence for those mourning a parent -- or anyone, really.
"I think it's just a reminder of my own life, with all the changes that are going on in my life," she said. "It was just a lot."
We totally get it.
Sort of puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?
Yes, the future of the farm matters.
But family is what really matters.
And even the farm gets sold, and even if it gets sold outside the family, the love the Roloffs have for each other will remain.
