The chores will still be there tomorrow

Fall has almost come to a conclusion here on the farm and as I look around I must be careful not to become too disappointed with myself when it comes to all of the projects and chores that didn't get finished.  This has been a common theme for me this year.

 

"How do you find time to do ALL THAT with a 10-month old?"

 

I am asked this question repeatedly after discussing gardening, baking, rabbits, pigs, chickens, knitting, crocheting, website development, working more than 1/2 time off the farm, blogging, keeping house, cats, dog, and the like.  The time is carved from essential things like sleep, eating, and my general health to ensure that the dream of living and making a healthy living from the farm stays alive.  Too much doesn't get done that NEEDS to get done in order to fulfill the goal of sustainability, but I manage to find the time that I need to at least keep the dream alive. 

 

Then there are days like today when I wonder what I have managed to get done.  Today I was a good mom.   That one always makes it pretty high on the list unless I have worked off the farm all day; Little Man is taken care of but I feel terrible not seeing him all day.  He has been lucky so far to spend his days home with his father, but soon we will enlist the assistance of a child care provider.  Working off the farm remains a necessity since my parents raised me wrong - they instilled far too much of a work ethic in me so I can't sit home and expect someone else to pay my bills for me.  Days when I have to have the same conversation as the week before with the health insurance folks or the power company ensuring them that they will get paid just not on their timeline often makes me want to throw my hands up in the air.  But we persist.

 

A trip to the processor this week with over 120 lbs of rabbits, a freezer recently filled with pork, and a few extra hours at the second off farm job have allowed me to take a little bit of a breath.  Tomorrow will include butchering the last of this summers' roosters, cleaning the rabbits, breeding some rabbits, preparing a couple of pies to be baked on Wednesday for Thanksgiving, continuing to work on crocheting of Christmas presents for family and spending some quality time with Little Man.  Maybe if I am lucky, all the chores can get done before 1:00 p.m. and I can spend the afternoon loafing on the couch watching football...

 

At least I have big dreams!