Take the First Step
Life as we know it can change in an instant, and the experiences of illness and death give us a new perspective on life. When I was in my mid-thirties, a close friend who was the same age as me became very ill and then died from a stroke. Several years later, two women in my friends group were diagnosed with breast cancer when we were all in our early forties. That was 2011, and I made it a priority that year to start living my life like every day matters, because it does. These experiences made me realize that life doesn't wait for you to find the right time to make your dreams happen.
We bought the property that we named 5R Farm after years of talking about moving to the country 'one day'. My husband and I finally realized that 'one day' was never going to arrive unless we made a conscious decision that the right time was in fact right now. We began looking for rural properties within an hour's drive of where we lived in the city. We wanted to be able to stay in our house in the city, close to where I worked, while we figured out all the things that would need to happen before we could move to the country. The first step was to find the right property. Over the next several months, we visited about a dozen properties that just weren't what we were looking for. Then one day we drove down a gravel driveway through the forest and popped out into an opening on a sunny hillside surrounded by majestic Douglas fir trees. As we walked the property, a pair of bald eagles began circling overhead above the tree tops (I promise I am not making that up, it's a true story)! We knew in an instant that we had found what we were looking for.
Buying our country property soon inspired other big changes in my life. I didn't want to be the person that worked the most overtime in the office any longer. I reduced my hours to 3/4-time so that I had more time to work on projects on our new property. We began spending long weekends in the country, and I began to dread going back to the city on Sunday more and more. Again, I listened to that voice in my head telling me that now was the right time to make the move full-time to our country property. That was 2013, and I am so glad that we made the move when we did in our forties when we had more energy for tackling all the big projects. Now that I'm in my 50's, and after the passing of my dad last year, I am renewed in the purpose of living every day to the fullest. I haven't posted on my blog in a year, and that's because I have been prioritizing other things - spending time with my mom, taking more trips, growing more flowers, and trying not to put so much pressure on myself that I don't have time to relax and enjoy life. There are still many times that I find myself working harder than I would like, but now I make it a priority to slow down for a while every day to enjoy time with the chickens and turkeys, pick myself a bouquet in the garden, or relax on the back porch and feel grateful for this place we call home. I've shared a few highlights of the last year in the photos below.
I wrote a book about raising turkeys that was published a couple of years ago. One of my favorite things is when I get a message from a person letting me know that a piece of advice from my book or a piece of information that I shared on a social media post made a difference in their lives. If I can encourage someone to keep their dream of moving to the country alive or to take that first step, that makes me happy. Sharing about our life since moving to the country has become an unexpected source of joy for me and has connected me with so many people across the country on a similar journey towards a fulfilling country life. It is out of these experiences that I was inspired to write a second book. I am excited to announce that "A Beginner's Guide to Homesteading; Practical Advice for a Self-Sufficient Country Life" is available for pre-order now at this link Sawdust Publishing and is scheduled to print in November. This book will show you how to:
Research rural property before buying
Identify environmental and land use constraints
Design a garden to meet your needs
Prepare for raising poultry and livestock
Meet the seasonal challenges of nature
Filled with personal anecdotes and 5R Farm photos, this book is an enjoyable read even if you are not planning to run off to the country - although after reading this book you just might! In case you are wondering about pre-orders, they help the publisher determine how many books to print. It helps both me and the publisher, so if you're interested order today!
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