The Road that Led to Homesteading, Part Two
If you have not read Part One “On the Treadmill of Life,” you might want to start there. If so, click here.
“Off the Treadmill of Life”
I wanted to get off the “treadmill” that before the accident I did not even realize existed. It is rooted so deeply in all of us by society to work hard, to make more money, to buy things, to work harder, to make even more money, to buy even more things. I spoke of this desire to Lane, who frankly did not want to hear it. Yes, he thought being home with the kids would be better for them. Yes, he felt confident that I could give our kids a better education at home. Unfortunately, he was sure we could not make it without my salary.
I don’t really know what happened to make him change his mind. One day he came to me and told me that if I really wanted this, then resign from my teaching position and start planning my school year with the kids. With a gigantic leap of faith that God would provide, we plunged ahead. I quit my job. In August instead of teaching about 180 students, I began home schooling my three.
For the first time in my life, I felt fulfilled with a sense of accomplishment. We had not just survived the first year, but we had thrived. Everyone was filled with joy. The kind that radiated from your innermost being. We were hooked. Did we have to cut back on our spending and shopping? Absolutely. Did it matter in the big picture? Absolutely not.
After two years of home schooling, Lane decided to begin working from home. He longed to be with his family. Again, the feeling that we needed to invest in our family overshadowed any fears of failure or not being able to make it financially. We again put our faith in God and made another big jump.
And, here we are four years later. Lane and I have been blessed with two more children, Isaac and Andrew. We have a large organic garden. We have fruit trees. We raise chickens for meat and eggs. We milk Nubian goats. We raise hogs occasionally for meat. We hunt for deer and wild hogs. We fish. We pick wild grapes, dewberries, and blackberries. We are homesteading in the 21st century.
We love our life. It is not always easy. It is not always profitable, materially speaking. It has not been smooth sailing either. We have faced many trying times and had to overcome many obstacles. If anything, we are the better for having experienced them. We are stronger. Lane and I are more in love with each other now than before, which is really hard to believe. Our faith in God has increased exponentially. We wake up every morning happy to be home and looking forward to whatever lays ahead for us that day. We are still relatively young and have plans for the future to expand our homesteading operation, but right now we are content to be where we are. Without a doubt, this is a great way to raise children and live.
Looking back, I am thankful for all of life’s experiences that led me to this point in my life. Yes, even the car accident and all the pain that followed it. I would not give anything to get back on the “treadmill” of American society again. Instead, I hope to share skills and knowledge of how to take care of one’s self in today’s present world that most have lost since the time of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
[...] on my journey to homesteading and read Part Two “Off the Treadmill of Life,” click here. convey_source = “English”;convey_user = [...]
I admire you that was very touching, Me and my family are starting our homestead and i hope one day my husband can work from home full time, I love the little house books I to keep reading them over and over I even have the cookbook if you have any advice on homesteading it would be great. Keep up yhe good work and god bless you and your family.
My simplest advice is to start small and take on more responsibilities a bit at a time. For example, we had started with a garden and chickens. We have slowly added other animals and fruit trees. Otherwise you will find yourself completely overwhelmed and stressed and unhappy.