Days Gone By

After a long, hard winter which saw extreme temperatures, spring is finally here. I am reveling in the milder temperatures, the re-greening of lawns, the flowering of trees, shrubs, and spring bulbs (daffodils, tulips). I am also reveling in the sprouting of seeds I planted a week ago and am very much looking forward to harvesting organic greens within the next few weeks from the mini salad bar I will have on my deck. In fact, my deck has become a sort of utopia for me, one which I find myself retreating to on the weekends, partaking in breakfast and coffee on it while I listen to the sounds and sights of the veritable nature preserve that is my backyard. It brings me such peace. I can only surmise that I am gravitating to it more than I ever have before because I know my days there are numbered, and that a period of chaos is about to enter my family’s life.

We are moving.

This place we have called home for more than a decade, the place we brought two children home to and who took their first steps here, won’t be home for very much longer. Our house isn’t up for sale yet but we are currently taking steps and making improvements to prepare it for an inevitable and much desired listing. We have been very comfortable here – our modest 740 square feet of living space, which has seen much renovation over the years, has made us very happy. But it’s simply not enough anymore for what we wish to do.

I have dreamt of creating a homestead for the past few years. I have a deep desire to create a self-sustained lifestyle for us all, and after becoming involved in a farmshare last year, I am firm and undeterrable in my quest to do so. My husband, who admittedly is not much of a self-starter, has lit a fire within himself so fierce that he conquered a time-consuming home improvement task in short order this weekend, an accomplishment that fills us both with pride. Neither of us is the best at doing things in a timely manner, much less mustering the motivation with which to complete it in a timely manner. Knowing we must be ready to list by the end of the school year (which is just a little over a month away) has forced us stick it to our procrastinative tendencies and be productive, thorough, and expedient.

It’s going to feel wonderful to accomplish this goal together, nervous as it makes us both. The stress of selling this house compounded by the search for a house that will meet our needs will probably have us at each other’s throats at times. But in the end, it will be worth all the discomfort, because we’ll have done it together. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful partner in this venture.