This is my Lilac bush. Actually it is the third I have started but the only one I managed to see through a winter. And considering that this winter offered up 100 year floods for our area and unprecedented snowfall I would say we have a bell ringer. Why Lilac? Because in the house I grew up in from 1955 until I finally left for the last time in 1967 had Lilac bushes that were my Mama's pride and joy. Interestingly enough when my youngest sister and I came together and forged a new relationship as adults in 2015 when our Daddy passed , I noted she too had a Lilac bush in her yard.
So here is the thing. I am a now single woman living on 42 acres (that outnumbers me right there) and I have livestock, I have the usual assortment of canine and feline companions and working dogs. I have chickens. I am now at the tender age of 70 years old ( not young for I have forged ahead and earned each one thank you!) the captain of this ship. I now can hand split wood by hand to keep warm, weed whack, string mow , run a two inverters multi solar panel off grid unit that has its own barn, birth kids ok I cheated I have um multiple years of practice on that one. Keep everyone warm, fed, healthy and pump 1,320. gallons of water from under my house on my new gas run pump. I am also exhausted more often than not (and fire season isn't here yet) I am understaffed and over worked . No not under paid as purrs, crazy kids jumping on my lap and dog kisses are high scale pay you know. And I am without a support group closer than the 5 and one half hours it takes for a sister, kiddos or grand girls to get here.
So the heartbreaking ( I won't lie here) choice was made to , a gasp from the crowd, sell my beloved "42 Acres of Paradise". I am figuring if the worst thing in my life is moving back to the central California area then perhaps I am doing alright. I am looking for a smaller, much smaller place in the foothills of Fresno county. I will be no more than an hour from my family. I will take every critter with me as I am responsible for 90% of them being on this earth to begin with and the rest through choice. I will continue to as life permits pursue the life of sustainability I love. I will have goats but they will more likely than not be glorified lawn ornaments only, chickens will come too . What would I do without my Flame? Of course Sherman and Yarrow will be needed to keep everyone safe from those wiley coyotes . Ari and Calli need to keep me in line and the cats too.
I will miss my land , my fiber friends, the amazing events which have forged who I am today. But on the flip side I will have easy access sister time on a regular basis, enjoying my son and daughter. And the grandgirls? Oh yes that is part of the plan. "Aubrey and Emily you two are the oldest could you come and stay at Gammie's for a week in October to feed while I go to Idaho to visit friends?"
What could possibly go wrong???! 😉
14 comments:
This is a big step, but it sounds like you are looking forward to it, and have some plans in place. I wish you the absolute best in your search for the right spot! -Jenn
Can you hear me clapping, jumping up and down and cheering? No, not in any way because you are letting go of a home and life and land that you have loved dearly, but because you're such a strong and brave and intelligent and loving and beautiful woman who is able to make a decision that will bring her a new-found happiness and contentment. (Can you believe I had the lung power to say all that in one breath while jumping up and down?!) Lordy, decisions like yours never come easy. Change, even good ones, are so hard to make. But like it or lump it, no matter our age, we go through different stages and phases of our lives and you are entering a new one of yours. Family and support system is more important today than ever and you're moving close to yours while still being able to live the life you love. Hugs to you. Insert more clapping and whistling. You go, girl!
I am so happy to read this. I have not understood how you could try to continue. Due to life circumstances.
Can't see how there should be any "gasps from the crowd." Could any of them, keep doing, what you have to do, at your age? I doubt it.
And you certainly don't have to keep wearing yourself out, just to be an "inspiration," to others.
With age comes wisdom, or so we hope. You have tapped into it. I wish you well, in your new chapter.
More than just welllll! A happy combination of (less of) the work you love. With new, joyful, necessary time off, too.
Gentle hugs....
Thank you Jenn. I am certain the right place, at the right price and right time will be out there.
Awe shucks Mama Pea. In all the back and forth over the last almost 7 months since Geoffrey passed the most motivating thought was I need my family. I have always missed not seeing them weekly or more as we did when we lived in the Fresno area. Now more so.
I have also watched my sister and kiddos put their lives on hold multiple times to come up and help out both before and after his passing. And it was a hardship on them and their families even though they never said so much. So I am pleased I can continue on with the lifestyle I love but closer to them in case the need should arise again. Win win I think.
I had several conversations with myself as to why my moving to Idaho or Alaska most likely wouldn't be the logical thing to do at this juncture. But a heck of a lot of fun , no?
Thank you Wisp.
I didn't mean to imply I was trying to "inspire" anyone. I was in survival mode. Geoffrey had cut a lot of logs to length but didn't split them. We heat with wood so I got the job by default. And that reason applied to the maintenance as well. I don't have the budget to hire someone to do things on a regular basis. Heck getting the fire break weed whacked was a four digit sum. But I hired it out as I didn't have enough time in at the weed whacker and string mower to do what this fellow did.
I am looking forward to more adventures and family dinners.As for time off. One of my favorite sayings (and have no idea who is responsible for it) "I want to live a life that I love so much I never need a vacation ."
It's a huge decision, but a really good one. I know there is the perfect place to you closer to family and more manageable. Hopefully all will go smoothly!
Thank you Leigh.
I agree think of how much can be accomplished when focus allows clarity. Instead of “got to get it done so the next task can be accomplished.”
It will be nice to be able to “smell the bucks, er, roses again.”
I'll add my kudos to everyone else. Life will be so much richer, being able to share yours with your family. You will find a nest of fiber friends no matter where you are. You are a magnet! You and I are pretty much the same age and I am at the same point. While I don't miss my family (can't get away from them... :)), I feel such a need to be near friends. You will create paradise no matter where you are. xxx
Kudos away my dear. I have always been a big family person. But things and life changed. I treasure this opportunity" to get back to where you once belonged".
(kudos to Lennon and McCartney)
As many young people I spent my young adult years trying to get as far from home as possible. I made it as far as , your territory somewhat , Woodstock. However long before it was "ohhhh" and was still "where????" But each time I came back until I left in 2006. Please note changes on dates in post.
Full circle and the journey is written amazing though when others are so tightly involved in one's life we often times wonder who is this journey for?
Bonus is the fiber guild I belonged to years before we moved in 2006 is still in existence and I still have a collection of friends in the surrounding area. So I am covered.
So appreciate everyone's support and take on the journey. It is good to see from others eyes to be sure.
Who knows? I may need quail eggs on the new place!
Smart move, altho' a hard one. We all come to a point in our live when it's time to move on.Hopefully you will be happier now in the place your going to. As we get older it's so important to have our family close by and the animals will be fine because they have you. Love you Goatidi, your a very strong women.
Wow Lynne!
You are so in tune and wise. I so appreciate your kind words as to my strength. Funny , this may be my Illinois farm girl genetics, but I don’t see what I have done as strength. I see it as being simplistic. Survival skills.
You wake up and it is cold what do you do? A. Pull the covers over your head and hope the wood splitting fairy will come. Or B. Get up toss the wood you split last night in the stove and light it. I vote for B but in reality I would love A and hope someone else does it 😂
We will do what we need to do because option B is not acceptable on any level.
I love you all for the kind words and support. Because like everyone I get by with a little help from my friends.
Opps that should have been option A.
I know because I've been there !! I would of liked option A, too!Xo
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