The simple life

Sometimes it's frustrating: so many people don't understand our desire to live The Simple Life. I think the most exasperating thing is to try to explain, to a person intent on living The Good Life (Livin' Large...big cars...bigger homes...lots of credit cards) that we don't live this way because we have to, but because we want to.

... I don't need boxes wrapped in string

and designer love and empty things...

-Goo Goo Dolls, Better Days

We could easily live the life of the Great Suburban Yuppie. Well, hypothetically we could, but I don't think any of us would be happy that way.

For some people, it's impossible to grasp that we would prefer to raise our own food. After all, organic groceries are readily available. Why get your hands dirty?

For other people, it's unbelievable that we'd rather spend an evening walking in the woods, holding hands and sipping wine, than to go out to dinner and a movie.

They can't understand our choice to homeschool; to keep our children close to us as long as possible. How can we possibly put up with them all day??

The majority of them can't comprehend why we'd possibly want to butcher our own meat.

They conclude we must be some sort of survivalists. Weirdos. Rednecks. Hillbillies. Militant Greenies.

I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.

...I need some place simple where we could live
and something only you can give and
that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive...
-Goo Goo Dolls Better Days

Then there are those that tell us, "You are so lucky!".

They envy our ability to grow our own food, raise whatever animal we want and live in the woods. They gaze at us with rapt awe, wondering what sort of clever maneuver put us here, and then announce they have to run because it's time for their favorite tv show.

While I appreciate their..well...appreciation...of our lifestyle, and while I feel very fortunate to have the loving husband, wonderful children (and grandchildren), and home with much potential that I now possess, I have to tell them, "Luck had nothing to do with it."

Which is entirely true. It's not as if we won the lottery. Our names weren't pulled from a hat to announce that we are now the proud owners of Simple Lives. We didn't wake up one morning to find The Simple Life Fairy had put exactly what we wanted under our pillows.

We are here because we worked hard, sacrificed a lot, and because we really, really, really want it. We bought a fixer upper, fixed it up, put up with drug dealers, loud stereos, and a million other annoying things, just to have money for a down payment on our dream. Hubby worked overtime, quit smoking, and gave up cable tv. Me, I nagged him to quit smoking and stopped paying the cable bill. We're a team, ya know. ;)

We settled for another fixer upper, in the woods, with a few acres. We made do, together, as a family. This was what we wanted.

We love our lives. We love the hard work, the aching muscles, the callouses and the dirty fingernails. Instead of an evening at the theater, we spend an evening walking in the woods. Instead of dining out, we pick produce fresh from the garden and experiment with new recipes. Some don't turn out so great, like the pickled crabapples or the bread and butter zucchini pickles. Ew. But it's all a learning experience for us.

Neither of us grew up with farm families. (My family did have a brief stint as homesteader type hippies, but that didn't last long.) We've learned everything we know from reading, from trial and error, internet research, and the occasional useful advice.

We've learned to plant, harvest, and put by. We've learned to cut, split, and utilize firewood. We've learned to scythe, to bale, and a zillion other things. But most of all, we learned to stop, to listen to nature, to breathe.

For those that think us lucky, I can't say we aren't. But with some hard work, you can be lucky, too.