It seems like it never fails, that as soon as Handy Husband pulls out of the driveway, that is when anything and everything happens! I am the one that is home most often, and as a result, I find myself in way over my head at least once a week.
Let me give you a few examples:
- Handy Husband (Cup of coffee in hand, headed out the door) “Ummmm looks the neighbors’ bulls are fighting right on the other side of that very shoddy fence. I guess call me when one of them gets onto our side. See ya!”
- Handy Husband: “So I will see you tomorrow. I don’t think 57 is going to calve tonight, but here are some calf chains if you need them. If you have trouble… well… I guess call your dad? See ya!”
- Handy Husband: “I will be gone for between seven and ten days. Don’t worry until at least day 14. I checked the weather and it is going to get cold. Oh yeah… whatever you do, do not turn on the furnace! See ya!”
The thing is, I always figure it out. I empty the mousetraps, I run the cow back through the neighbor’s fence, I capture the neighbors bull in the corral, and I split firewood. Sure sometimes I grumble, but I love how living here on our farm proves to me that I can do more than I ever expected. I am not really the type to talk a lot about myself, but I am learning to celebrate who I am and what I can accomplish without apology. I am smart, creative, and a good problem solver. I am little, but I work hard and I am not afraid to get dirty. I appreciate how my lifestyle reminds me how strong I really am.
I love the example I set for my daughters so that they too will be self-reliant. They are good at taking care of themselves and one another. It is important to me to cultivate these skills that will serve them so well in the future.
One of my favorite stories about my Grandmother is about the time she, with four children in tow, shot and killed a bear with her .22. If you don’t know much about these sort of things, that was a bold (and potentially very risky) move! As the story goes, the family really needed the meat back at home. Grandma and the kids drove out to an old orchard to pick fruit. She saw the bear and my father, her son, convinced her to take a shot at it. So she went for it. She then proceeded to gut and skin out the bear with the knife she brought for their picnic lunch. It was bold, dangerous, and impulsive, but she knew how to get the job done. Someday, I hope to be half as tough as that lady! (My other Grandmother, who it just so happens is my number one reader of this blog (Hi Granny!) is equally as fantastic, but that is a story for another day. You read that right Granny, get ready to be backtoourboots famous!)
The point… which I seem to have lost track of… is this: I can do whatever it takes, and I do. I have never been one to shy away from a challenge, and nothing makes that more clear than my day-to-day life.
Sharing this blog with others makes me nervous because I do not feel like a real homesteader. I do not know it all and I am still learning so much all the time. Anyone who wanted to could do all the things I do. When I recently expressed these insecurities to Handy Husband he said, “yeah, but you are doing it, so why shouldn’t you write about it.” So… here I am.
You’re inspiring me!