Today part of my family is relaxing on a beach in the Dominican Republic. This was an all-expenses paid trip which DH and I were invited to take. It was forty-four degrees and raining (snowing just 24 miles and a few hundred feet higher in elevation away) in Northern Vermont today and I am not sure if I would have traded it for that eighty degrees and sunny 2,500 miles or so away.
Seven years and three months ago I was relieved of my job due to cash flow problems at the company I was working for in Southern, Connecticut. My only dependents were furry and four-legged so I decided to move back home. In the remnants of a hurricane, my two ferrets, four cats and I moved north to a rented mobile home in Enosburg Falls, Vermont. My mom came to my apartment and helped me pack and vacuum and sent me on my way. 'Are you sure?' she asked me as the moving truck pulled away with all of my belongings save an overnight bag and those with a heart-beat of their own. 'I am sure,' I said as I confidently hugged her, got in my six year old car and drove north in the pouring rain.
Seven years ago, I offered to take my grandmother's dog when she went to the hospital. My mother asked me if I was sure if I wanted that kind of commitment, kennels and such or taking her with me wherever I went. I assured her that it was something I wanted to do and Raven came home with me.
Six years and two months ago, I got in the car and drove 92 miles to meet, in-person, a man who I had only spoken with online and over the telephone. My mother cautioned me about meeting people through the computer and how dangerous it could be. I didn't tell her that I was going until after I went. I was thirty years old, I knew what I was doing... Little did I know how dangerous it would be - I gave my heart away that day and I still haven't gotten it back.
Five and a half years ago we planted Christmas trees and picked up some free chickens. What did I know about raising chickens or trees for that matter. But I decided to make an investment in my future. We have had our ups and downs, but today we sell enough eggs to break even on the chicken food, housing and egg cartons. Some of the trees have died, but most of the ones planted the first year are chest-high.
Seventeen months ago we were invited on an all-expense paid trip to the Dominican Republic. Eleven months ago I started to feel pretty sick. Eight months ago we bought two piglets. Amazingly enough we ended up with over 200 lbs of pork in the freezer before Christmas. Three months and twenty-seven days ago I (with some help from the OB-GYN and the entire team in the operating room for my cesarean section) delivered a healthy baby boy. Three months and seventeen days ago I ended up in the Critical Care Unit with a dangerous condition called pulmonary embolism (I had two really big ones, one in each lung). One month ago we brought home thirty-six rabbits. Three weeks ago, DH went and got thirty two more.
Today, I spent time cleaning the house hoping the rain would stop long enough to put plastic on the greenhouse (it didn't), hoping the tarp would keep the OSB dry enough through the rain to get the floor of the rabbit-shed built tomorrow, fed baby chickens, fed fifty-eight rabbits (you can do the math here), chased laying hens back into the chicken coop with DH after dark, played with my healthy, happy, almost four-month old son, cooked a delicious dinner (from one of those pinterest recipes), hugged and patted my dog (who is probably not going to make it past the end of the month, but I love her anyway), and finally relaxed with a glass of wine, some (free-over-the-air, six channels worth of broadcast) television and DH on the couch.
Only once, today, did it occur to me that I could be some place else. I was cold and wet chasing the chickens, I didn't get the greenhouse done today because of the rain, several more things didn't get done because I spent quality time with my son instead of completing other farm projects
- but -
not once did I wish I could trade it for the lounge chair on the beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment