Choices.... A letter to a friend.

,
Chores complete.... Wood brought in and I am back inside enjoying the warm fire and a cup of coffee while catching up on emails.... I've been emailing back and forth with a old friend who I grew up with. Catching up on her family and our lives on the farm since our "big move" (as its become to be known as), to Oregon from California back in 2005.... She and her husband have been talking about making a life change, but haven't taken the final step.  

I remember her joking with me in 2004 about us moving out to the boonies and becoming hermits... Now, they are looking at their hurried and stressful lives and are asking the same question that we asked ourselves in 2004, "Do we want to spend the rest of our lives living this kind of life".  She confided how much they admire us... How they have been considering moving to the country and buying a place.   
She summed up her email with, "You seem so happy and content".  "Do you have any regrets"?

I've decided to share "Part" of the my response to her. She knows I am sharing it with you... I often get questions on what life is like on our farm. So here you go.... The not so glamorous, sometimes heart breaking but always rewarding life....  

So let me digress.... 
                                                                                    
I spent this rainy morning shoveling icy poopy snow out of our Duck Run and replacing old bedding with fresh inside the Duck House while enjoying the quacking chatter of our crazy ducks. I also raked the Hen House out, did the morning egg collecting and freshened up the nesting boxes... From there, since our "Frost Free water valves" are frozen... (they certainly don't live up to their names), I hauled 5 gallon buckets of water from the house out to the Coop and Duck Run to replenish their heated drinking water... Next I headed to the barn to feed the horses and for a little stall mucking... The mares spend most of the time inside in the cold weather, so lots of mucking to do... Nothing smells or looks better than dirty jeans, poopy Muck boots on a sweaty woman ;). Wow I was a "Hot Mess" and  beat...

So much of life on the farm is about doing what is necessary... It's doing the feedings and watering of animals... Providing the animals a clean, warm and safe place to live... It's doctoring the leg of a horse who seems to have a love affair with fences.:( It's knowing when a animal you have loved and cared for is suffering and has reached the end of its life here on earth... Grieving for that animal who will always have a place in your heart... Hard and sometimes painful decisions.... 

But farm life has so many rewards...

The excitement of adding a new member to our menagerie of animals.... The beauty of a pasture full of green grass and the enjoyment of watching the mares grazing... Going out to the Hen House and enjoying the sounds of happy Hens and collecting eggs. The success of heirlooms growing in the vegetable garden... Picking and preserving the food we grow... The feeling of success when one more of the many farm projects are finished and crossed off the list.... The enjoyment of watching the sunset from our front deck... I could go on and on....

I must say though, living way out of town life can be a little lonely at times... Especially in the winter months... But I wouldn't change a thing about our lives now... Would I not love to have our kids living closer to us? Definitely!! But we all have our own lives and make the most of the times when we are together.

Decisions that can affect the rest of ones life can be scary and shouldn't be done on a whim... I know for us we didn't want to look back with regret on adventures we didn't take.... 

You asked if we had any regrets, I am happy to say, No.....  

What is right for us, might not be right for you.... Think hard and long, my friend... Consider all aspects of your lives now and as you grow older. We are here if you need a sounding board.

Miss you, keep in touch,  ~Lori~