Transitioning

It is taking a little getting used to, but the transition to full time farmer and part time employee is going fairly well.  Balancing the to-do list with the everyday chores, let alone blog posting will require commitment to a schedule which I have not yet been able to achieve.  It also happens to be summer vacation from school and my step-children are a welcome addition to the farm for a short while.  I figure that I will get the schedule completely figured out right about the time that my step-daughter returns to her mother's for the beginning of the school year.

DH and I are learning to communicate better and at night will discuss a task or two that we wish to get accomplished the following day.  I will plan on working on my task first thing in the morning and separately DH will do the same.  Little man wakes up, we take our turns getting up with him for his early morning bottle, and then when the other spouse wakes up, we each start out to work on our appointed task for the day.  Both of us are out the door when we look at each other, then back into the house and say something to the effect of, "I thought you were watching him while I did..."  Eventually we work it out and the day goes on.

As often happens here, one task turns into five.  Cleaning out the rabbits will inevitably include repairs to the waste deflectors, cleaning up the work bench with  left over tools from yesterday's project, cleaning up the chicken coop, moving the chicken tractor, weeding a flower bed, putting up screening to keep the chickens out of the garage while still allowing air flow for the rabbits, etc.  The original task of cleaning out the rabbits (a 45 minute task without interruption) has taken three hours and the second item from the to-do list was either not started or stopped mid-way through.  Kids at the farm requires happily scheduling time in our day to go down to the lake for swimming or fishing or perhaps a trip down to the library.  Scheduling sufficient family play time has fallen by the wayside; when we actually get to the lake, we are there for far longer then planned.  Dinner then comes late and by the time kids are showered and in bed, blog posts don't get written.  My household paperwork has fallen desperately behind and I think I have only made it down to the garden once in the past week.  Not great for someone who is planning on making part of her living from the yield of that 1/2 acre.

During times of quiet, like this fifteen minutes stolen while little man and DH sleep (we were up until 1:30 a.m. baking for farmers market and then back at it around 6:00 a.m. to get the cannoli shells made) and the bigger kids are drawing and making paper airplanes; I often wonder if I am going to be able to make this farm work.  Organization seems nearly impossible and focus on any project is difficult with little man going through a separation anxiety phase.  As the bank account dwindles from regular bills - electric, phone, fuel -animal feed and an expensive brake repair on the car, the tension mounts and I wonder if I made the right decision. 

While sitting on the front porch with my bottle of homebrew, after everyone has gone to bed at night, bellies full with meat and vegetable grown on this very farm; I worry, but I am filled with contentment knowing all that this ex-corporate ladder climbing girl has managed to accomplish in just five short years.  Bring on the next five!