Makin' It Happen

"So what are you going to do with yourself when both kids are in school?"

It's a question I'm asked a lot (and one I ask myself, too) lately... and I always draw a blank.

I only have one more year to figure out what the answer is... one more year before Henry goes to Kindergarten and I'm left with the majority of my day to myself.

I've had quite a plethora of helpful suggestions from people offering what they would do in my place:

"You should sell real estate."
"Why don't you go back into the (social work) field?"
"You could offer to watch other peoples' kids."
"I'd just sleep in and play video games all day."

Well, thanks friends, but if I'm being honest my heart is starting to speak up, and what it's asking for is none of the above.

Remember when I wrote about the daydreams I was having right after moving to our new place? Well, with the realization of our garden and chicken coop, I was not pacified but rather I found myself feeling further fueled.

With every consideration of another bureaucratic nine-to-fiver and the juggling game I'd have to play to maintain school schedules and home, a voice deep down started nagging- I don't want to be part of the mainstream. I don't want a traditional job. I don't want to have to leave my home to find a way to contribute to my family's well being...

Y'all, I want a productive, marketable hobby farm.

Yeah.

And during the car ride down to be with our families this past Easter weekend, I finally worked up the guts to say it out loud.

You know what the hubs said?

"That's a great idea."

I don't know what I expected to hear, but his immediate support surprised me. Really, it shocked me. I felt the tingle of possibility charge all the way down to my toes, and in that instant I knew we could actually make it happen.

I still feel giddy even now, thinking about where to go from here. My five year plan is looking almost tangible... and my sights are set on my next step: bees! So the first weekend in May you'll find me headed to a crash course in beekeeping (I used this site to find the organization and class), and after that who knows? Maybe bees this year?

Maybe!

Maybe both kids in school and some time alone at home won't be so bad after all... and maybe I really do have something valuable to contribute to our family without having to look to the mainstream!

Scratch that... I know I do... and I can't wait to make it happen.