A couple of ladies on the Dollar Stretcher Community referred to my lifestyle as "a slice of heaven" a few days ago. OMG heaven?! After struggling with things not going right with the animals, tractors, and children....and needing a new septic...I wasn't thinking of heaven exactly. I ALSO got my husband's social security statement today...again not heaven.
Well the animals and children got in line, the tractor got fixed, the garden got tilled, and we found a way of doing our own drain field for $390. I sat down on my bench under the tree in the barnyard watching the animals and and smelling fresh tilled earth and thought, well it is a heaven for me. I'd rather be here than anywhere else. Certainly more so than than stuck in an office all day working for a man other than my husband. It's well worth any amount of sacrifce or cost. Anyone venturing into the self sufficient lifestyle needs to remember it's not all glory days. There are setbacks and discouragements, some that make you feel like throwing in the towel and going back to the city way of life. There are pros and cons to every choice in life. We choose to preserve our way of life even if it costs us. To have me go back to work before the kids are grown would increase not only our income but our heartaches at this point and it's not a change dear husband or I wish to make. Our lifestyle is something that makes us uniquely us, and what we truly enjoy working at.
I moved my seedlings outside to the the mini greenhouse from the basement where they had sprouted under grow lights 6 weeks ago. We have 2 month old baby goats, 1 month old chicks, and as of 2 days ago we also have 7 baby bunnies. Everyone seems much happier now that the last of our snowbanks have gone and the days are longer and warmer. I am looking forward to getting the cold weather crops in the ground this week as well as several acres of field corn for the animals.
Now to the lovely social security statement from the Feds....I should have realized it sooner, but that wage drop my husband had to make to get a job after being laid off, well it was more than just the $5 an hour loss. Looking at the statement and taking into account months worked vs unemployment it shows that we are making $14,000 LESS PER YEAR. The last time dear husband made this wage our boys were in diapers and my mortgage was less than half what it is now. Gosh no wonder things feel so darn tight!
In the meantime a friend called with a job opportunity at a town 45 minutes away. I told her I'd look into it, as it is short term this summer and then again this fall. The question is if it pays enough for me to drive that far with a 8 cyl truck. My oldest son is working full time at a nearby resort lifeguarding, so that means my youngest will be home all by himself. He can do it fine of course, but should he? Will it be good idea to leave him alone for 40 hours a week?
Like i said, every choice as pros and cons.
