After Years It's Only the Beginning
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 ;)
With the crazy weather we might find the farm nice and green when we arrive
For the past three months we’ve been living in a 90 square foot room in a three bedroom apartment shared by two friends of ours. It’s a little weird living in a shared 3 bedroom apartment when you’re married and you’ve spent the prior two years living by yourselves. Bills, dishes, trash, cleaning, finding time to be alone, it all gets complicated. Needless to say, while it’s been fun, I’m really looking forward to having my own space again and this time having a lot more space than I’ve ever had before.
Next Saturday our lives will change dramatically. We’ll go from never having owned a house to owning a house. From never having owned land to owning 84 acres. From never farming before to farming. I’ll be working remotely, so at least some of my daily life will remain somewhat intact, but Sweetbreads’ life will shift entirely. The list of things to accomplish when you’re starting out homesteading and farming is endless. Fencing will go up, buildings will be built, the garden will be planted, animals will come on. Pretty soon many lives will depend on us for protection, food and water. Every - single - day. We’ll not only have their lives to sustain and enjoy, but also their deaths to endure.
Preparation for various scenarios becomes a serious concern. It’s not a matter of “what if there’s no G train, would I bike it or just get a cab?” Or, “who do I call if the hot water heater stops working?” It’s more like, “what if a wolf eats our best does?” Or, “what if all our chickens die for some unknown reason?” Or, “what if any number of things goes wrong and we can’t get the dairy/cheesemaking operation off the ground?”
It’s a lot of responsibility coming on all at once. Neither of us have really been in that position before, so I suppose it's probably best to know no other way. It’s going to take a lot of learning and adapting and it will be a lot of fun, but it’ll also be pretty damn hard.
We’ve been planning this for years and yet in less than weeks it will only be the beginning. At the end of the month we'll pack up the truck and start the drive down to Tennessee. Home.
Reader Comments (9)
You will do fine! And call us any time if you have questions or concerns.
Thanks, I'm sure there will be plenty of both!
It is a lot. But you know you will never be given more than you can handle. Besides... I know a heavenly band of angels who have their hands on your heads. Just remember... Anything, any time. You guys will be way more than fine. Enjoy the moments.
You'll be great! Relish every single moment!
Wow the adventure begins - There will always be ups and there will always be downs may your ups outnumber the downs.
Good luck! Everything will be ok.
I'll echo what the others have said and add that if there was ever anyone who did their due dilligence in research and learning, planning etc. before hand, it's the two of you.
There comes a time when you get everything set up for a job, a new project, etc. when everything is ready and in place and it's time to pull the trigger (in this case, and for you, that would be the move onto the farm and shifting your income source). That's the scariest part of the process. You get the feeling that you're standing on the edge of a cliff and you need to step off the edge but no matter how well you've prepared, there's always, even if it's just in the back of your mind, there's always the fear that you'll fall. But you don't because there's a bridge there, hidden in plain sight. That bridge is your prep work.
It's like the scene in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, where Indi takes the leap of faith to cross the chasm between him and the Holy Grail. He knew the bridge was there all along, It was just hard to see as he was stepping off the edge of the cliff. Well, at least until he tossed that sand on it. ;-)
Y'all have build about as good a bridge as anyone could. Just remember to toss some sand on it if ever you loose track of it.
Good luck on this crazy wonderful ride!
Thanks everyone! Just gettin' some thoughts off my chest. Love the analogy Joanne, thanks for the comment.
Congrats! As some folks who recently did this (well, not 84 acres, but moved from city to country), I can assure you that you're going to love it.
And honestly, one of the best parts of this experience was making our first mortgage payment. The minute I sent it through I really felt a change. Well, that and walking out into pasture, looking up, and seeing stars that I had forgotten existed since I was 10 and in the Boy Scouts. That was quite enlightening.
Looking forward to hearing about your adventures!