Three Years of Blogging

Three years ago I began this blog. We lived in a small town 100 kms from here and everything that we have and are doing now was just a dream. At that time it was hard to get anywhere. My youngest cried in the vehicle--every moment that he spent in a vehicle--and it was a 45 minute drive for groceries or one hour to get to my parent's farm. He also made strange to everybody...especially my mom, the only person that had ever watched my kids for me besides their dad. Life felt frantic and messy and beyond my control. A big part of the decision to move was the little boy that could not be comforted in the car. I had to move closer to my people. I owe him one.

This is O--he can fall asleep anywhere :)

I am so glad that we took the plunge and decided to build our acreage sooner than planned. For a time we gave up and decided to just move to "town". My mom sensed that and encouraged us to build the acreage. I'm glad she did, so, so glad. I knew the life I wanted and how I wanted to raise my kids. Although I suppose we could have done it anywhere, we are home now and there is an indescribable peace to knowing that you are exactly where you should be, doing what you were meant to do.

I think that blogging about our lives here is a contradiction. I am intensely private and an introvert. Let's call me quirky. But as I've gotten older I've come to embrace my own quirks. For some reason it feels safe to share our adventures here in this space, although I've opted not to join Facebook, Twitter, Google plus and the like. I am not interested in creating a public persona or trying to maintain it. This is it. This is us. I have made wonderful, meaningful connections through my blog and the blogs of others. I've learned and I've grown. I've wasted a LOT of time swiping on my phone and at times it has been a challenge to cut back and stick to the most positive and helpful. The desire to spend my time on positive, nourishing relationships extends from the real, everyday, to the virtual online community. If you have hung around here reading my thoughts, I am so humbled and thankful. If you've taken anything positive with you then I am so very glad. We are keeping it simple around here. We are trying not to be wasteful, aiming for self-sufficiency though we can never get there. We rely on friends and family and they rely on us. I guess "efficiency" is where we are headed. Thank you for being a part of that and giving me a little of your time :)