Why On Earth Would You MOVE!?!

It's said with a scandalous tone- WHY? It isn't just others who ask, it's a question that I have asked myself- and by ask, I mean, on occasion, screamed.

"Why?! You have friends, community, neighbors, income, places to walk, public transport, health insurance, dental insurance. What is wrong with you? This is the American dream, isn't it? Why are you giving that up. Safety nets, people, SAFETY NETS!"

The panic starts and picks up intensity as I think of all that falls away as soon as I fly this coop for greener pastures. What will catch me when I fall?

What about the children? The dogs? The piggies (the guinea variety)? The cat- that will certainly be "cats" once the barn is up?- Not to mention the dream of geese and ducks, chickens and a couple turkeys (their eggs are amazingly delicious!)? What was I thinking??

And then I remember- I was thinking that I wanted to homestead. I was thinking that living in the country in a rural community would slow down the race towards adulthood that my adolescent and tween children have embarked upon at a rate far more alarming than I or my husband experienced. I was thinking that a little detour away from the throws of Western society might be just the thing.
I was thinking that those billboards that tell my children to be skinnier, taller, bustier, more muscular and more airbrushed than anyone could ever be (and for good reason) and those other signs that tell them to drink that soda, have this hair cut and eat that food and then go play these games with these new electronics- won't be there to tell them how and who they should be and act every single day- shoving it down their throats when we drive to the grocery store or just down the block. (And, after reading that, I was thinking that I could practice avoiding run-on sentences.)

I was thinking that a life full of lazy days on the river, a giant garden of food we grow ourselves, 4H projects, country fairs and a trip to the Unitarian church a couple towns over once a week will provide a slower pace and, in turn, a fuller life.

That's what I was thinking. The fact that the universe seems to be far more in charge of the situation than I am, is almost forgotten- but only almost. It is handing out gifts like confetti and I am standing here letting it fall around me trying to remember to say thank you over and over again.