Falling Off the Deep End

I rant. Thankfully, I have someone in my life who listens with a sympathetic ear and then laughs. If I am being laughed at or laughed with is the question. But, this is not a question I need to be answered at this point in my life. Right now, knowing I can let off steam about kids, politics, farming, property prices, dogs, noise, pollution, chemicals…and the list goes on…is what matters to me.

I live in Idaho with my husband. We have three young adult children, two small dogs, one outside cat, one Betta, four promiscuous Koi with untold new offspring, and two frogs. We are moving to a 40 acre small farm. Actually, we are moving to 40 acres of land in the Palouse. It will be a small farm, soon. I think. I hope. I believe.

Certainly, soon is a relative term. I said, “Soon” four years ago when we decided we wanted to move out of the city. I do not have a bucket list; I have a “Soon” list. These are the items I want to accomplish in my life within a delineated time frame. My husband and I have dreams. We also have the goals, plans, and guidelines to make these dreams come true. Providing for ourselves, preparing for the worst case scenario and believing in the best in all things, sharing knowledge and experience with others, always learning and searching for better if not smarter choices; these are our basic goals. Wikipedia defines self-sufficiency as the state of not requiring any outside aid, support, or interaction, for survival. This is not our goal. We believe in supporting, interacting and assisting others as a community, so our definition differs slightly. We want to slow down, do things ourselves, and be self-sufficient in a fast food world. Perhaps, more realistically, we want to be more self-reliant. Any progression to that end will make us “more” than we are now.

I have some family who actually think my husband and I have fallen off the deep end, others who simply think we have bitten off more than we can chew, and finally, there are those in my family who want to join the journey and do the same thing. Although I am not a funny person by nature, I hope you will find humor in many things I write. I invite you to follow along, sit back with a cup of coffee or tea, laugh, cry, and join in the discussion. This is definitely a journey and I look forward to you being part of the ride.