Experimenting…

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope that you truly enjoyed a beautiful holiday season.  Perhaps it was different, but hoping the less hectic pace did your soul a bit of good.

As the new year begins for us, we are looking ahead to future plans for our homestead. We are always in the middle of so many projects! We are planning our spring garden, planning for additional livestock, and doing some aesthetic landscaping. 

Starting a homestead was truly a brand new venture for us. We have little to no experience with almost all that we took upon ourselves in 2020. It was the same when we decided to sell our home and everything in it to go full time RVing. We had never camped except a handful of times.

When you have that divine wisdom and fire in your belly about a new venture, you have to just go! We binge watched YouTube channels about the topics as well as read niche blogs, but other than that it was one giant experiment. So many people put off the very things that would get them to the next level in their lives because they aren’t experts in the topic. 

This time of year everyone is starting to harshly judge themselves to see what resolution they can come up with. We don’t have to beat ourselves up like this every year. Just look at your life and see what 1 thing you’d like to shift and just go! Maybe it’s learning to sow, garden, or make art? Go get the materials and just wing it! Then, you can refine your craft by taking online classes.

Getting stuck in the dream phase can cost you your life.  You’ll look back and realize you were living someone else’s dreams and wonder where the time went. It doesn’t have to be some giant task.  Just go! I had zero gardening experience! In fact, I called myself a plant killer. You know what though? This darn COVID deal got my mama bear instincts going and we wanted to ensure we had food to feed our family if things did spiral out of control. That plunge taught both of us so much! Most importantly, I learned that my happy place is in the garden! That ‘experiment’ taught us what to do and lots of what NOT to do for our spring garden.

We also wanted to see if we could extend our growing season up here in the mountains. We are in zone 6b and our first frost is usually mid-October. If we had only gone by this, we wouldn’t have the delicious collards, bok choy, radishes, and spinach that we are harvesting now. We went back to good old YouTube and binge watched other homesteaders and gardeners and got some tips and tricks. Our farm store up the road helped us get the right supplies and we made mini greenhouse tunnels to protect the plants. Already, we see things we would do different next year. The point is if you want everything to be just right, dear Goldilocks, NOTHING will ever happen at all. Just go!

Experiment away…you only have one life!! You want to try and have as little regret as possible swirling around in your head at night when it hits the pillow.  I for one have many and the biggest is allowing my life to be consumed by what others think of me.  So many of my dreams have been delayed by focusing on their opinions.  So many nights of sleep destroyed by their words. Only God and you know what’s best for your life. I would say that I now know that really only God knows.

This past year I worked on deep surrendering. Letting things go. Mostly self limiting beliefs that were mostly from listening to others versus God and my own intuition. You see, when you embark on a journey that is way far off the beaten path, you will have so many haters. Yes, I’m grateful for those cheering us on for sure! However, it sometimes gets drowned out by the naysayers. For that I am deeply regretful. I can only move forward in deep gratitude for those that truly support our vision and drown out the noise that doesn’t align with the God given wisdom that directed us down this path in the first place.

You see, experimenting is what got us here and I do not regret that! What I would regret is just sitting back on the sidelines of our old life dreaming about this and not taking the plunge. We have seen how deeply profound this experience has been for our son. He is growing leeps and bounds, is so advanced for his age, and is such a free spirit. This is what we wanted for him! We want him to think for himself, to be creative, to appreciate Mother  Earth, and of course so much more.

Was this journey easy?? Not even for a second! I still wouldn’t change it! We are far down our path to self reliance and it feels great!! We don’t owe anyone, anything. Instead of chasing titles on the corporate ladder, we chased the deeds and titles of our home, land, and vehicle. Being debt free is the real freedom in this country and we are quite proud of this achievement. We want to leave this legacy for our son.

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Although it hasn’t been easy, it is a simple life and I know that sounds like an oxymoron. The days aren’t filled with chaos like our old life. They are busy though. We have chickens, dogs, a garden, and 21 acres to care for on top of all the normal household and parental responsibilities. It really brings a sense of joy and contentment that is hard to put in words.

We did decided to close the door on the RV life for now. We sold it and got a prefab house so that we can be more firmly planted here. We kept it small and simple. It’s eco friendly and feels so cozy. We will get another camper down the line, but for now we will be hibernating on our mountain.

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My wish for you for this New Year is that you push yourself a bit to try that ‘one thing.’ I wish you joy, health, and peace. Take a moment for you today and breathe.

Just go!