Sunday, April 27, 2014

Creating Your Own Happiness


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This past year was a year of personal revelations for me. I am creeping up on 40 you see.  Last July I found myself soul searching deeper then I’ve ever dug before.   I asked myself, ” what makes me happy” and “what makes me not”.  I formulated a mental list and well I must admit I was a little verbal too.  And damn I’ve been sticking to it and for that I am in a peaceful space!


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Overall I would consider myself a pretty happy person, although I have my moments…usually hormonally driven.  But I would find myself in situations that did make me a tad bit miserable.  For instance, I HATE shoveling load after load of mulch hay to the compost pile.   Maine Man not so much, he views it as a work out that he actually accomplishes something other then the work out.  I would much prefer to go to the gym and get my butt whipped by a coach.  I LOVE goats, they are a lot of fun but they are also a TON of work and if you have enough of them they can be very costly.  I loved milking, the process of it and the availability of fresh, raw milk .   But it was time consuming and tied me down big time.  I decided to get rid of the goats, I now spend five to eight dollars a week for a gallon of fresh, organic, raw Jersey milk.  Much freakin easier and a heck of a lot less money then all those stinkin’ goats were consuming.


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When we first started this journey on the farm my thoughts were to be as self-sufficient as possible.  I slowly realized how much work that was.  Really, it is a full-time job plus.  I am now in a place that I don’t feel we need to do all.  There are other off-farm adventures in life I want to and will experience. Looking back I spent enough money taking beekeeping classes and getting set up to tend bees that I probably could have supplied us with local honey for the next 5 years.  Crazy, huh?  My plan is to offer up our land to an experienced bee keeper to put his or her hives here and I will follow them around and learn as I go before jumping on that bandwagon again.  Therefore we will get all the benefits of the bees, hands on training, and maybe a little honey too.  I would also recommend to anyone getting into bees to join a bee club….a mistake I made.  They are complex little buggers, more so then most can imagine.  It is nice to have experienced people to guide you through your beekeeping experience.


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I do like honey especially on homemade toast with a bit of peanut butter but maple syrup is my preferred natural sweetener of choice.  Fortunately, despite the wacky winter we had we still managed to put up approximately 4 gallons of syrup for pancakes, waffles, and I use it in my coffee. Maine Man is also in the process of making some maple wine.  Can’t wait to sample that.

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In addition to weeding out the things that create misery in daily farm life I also made a stance on a personal level.  Instead of constantly doing for others I plan in time for taking care of me on a regular basis.  My kids are older now and very independent.  I am a much happier momma/wife for that.  I will end this rant with a saying that pretty much sums it up…..
  • Eat like you love yourself.
  • Move like you love yourself.
  • Speak like you love yourself.
  • Act like you love yourself.


 

2 comments:

Dragonfly Hill said...

Oh K ! I have always known you to be a person who "gets it" but this one is the best ! You can always support those that farm, and now you are harvesting a love for yourself. You go girl !!!

warren said...

Probably the best solution for the bees...a beekeeper would probably be delighted to have a safe place to keep an apiary...