Homesteading? Me? No, absolutely not me.

Posted by Suzanne | 0 comments

Are you crazy?

Or smarter than the rest of us?

I didn’t start out down the crazy-path willingly. It’s come a little at a time.

Okay, to be brutally honest, my dad did always say that I was born in the wrong time – that I’d have made a good “flower child.” And there was that time that my sister-in-law called me a hippie – to which I vehemently replied (at least in my head) “I most certainly am NOT!”

Until I read the definition:

Hippie: –noun
a person, esp. of the late 1960s, who rejected established institutions and values and sought spontaneity, direct personal relations expressing love, and expanded consciousness, often expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing and of beads, headbands, used garments, etc.
Also, hippy.
Compare flower child.
Taken from: American Psychological Association (APA):
hippie.
(n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved May 07, 2008, from
Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hippie

Oh. “…rejected established institutions and values…” “…sought spontaneity…” “…expressed externally in the wearing of casual, folksy clothing…used garments…”

I repeat, oh.

Yeah… That would be me. Who knew?

But I thought my crazy leanings only encompassed those silly braids, bandanas, and goofy t-shirts.
Until I had kids. “You mean I’m supposed to put them in daycare at 6 weeks old? Um, I don’t think I can do that.” “Still breastfeeding at 13 months? Uh, yes I am. Is that weird?” “Yeah, I’m really having my 4th child and my oldest is 6, you mean you don’t want any more kids? Are you sure I’m the strange one?” “Yeah, we tried school and hated it, so we’re homeschooling. No, I’m not kidding.”

So it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise for me to be looking into homesteading. But it is. Really. I’m so in denial. It started out as researching how to save money since all these children are starting to really eat, not just nibble at their hot dogs anymore. I mean really eat. That grocery bill’s only goin’ to keep climbin’. So I guess we better get intentional about our shopping. And cooking. Suddenly I’m being wooed by other people’s pantries that are full of those shining glass jars that hold such goodies all year ’round. Not to mention, they usually come from their own hard working of their own land. Oh, homesteading life, why must you be whispering my name so invitingly? My mind turns to daydreaming all too often these days. “If I just had some chickens, I could have eggs.” “Mmm.. Honey… we could have our very own honey!” “If I just had some fruit trees, oh the applesauce we could make.” “If I just had some veggies, and, oh, OH, herbs! Wouldn’t herbs be just delightful?”

Each time I open my processed-laden cabinets, I pine for items that are the fruits of my labor. And somehow, I think I would rather labor over a hot stove than to labor over a buggy full of cranky children, in a cranky store, with lots of other cranky shoppers, only to come home, unloading my overpriced goods, and sulk in my own crankiness.

So to the frugal sites I came skipping along, looking forward to such wonderful tips. And I found, as I began looking at all these resources the word “homesteading” kept coming up. Homesteading? But that’s just for those really out there weird people. Right?

Uh, hello? Person in the mirror, just what do you think you are? Normal? Really, now.

So, I looked up “homesteading”:

At Christian Homesteaders Association they list a few of the Christian Homesteader’s attributes as:
…They usually live in the country, although there are urban homesteaders.
…They grow some of their own food.
…They are financially responsible, choosing to work their way out of debt.
…They homeschool their children.
…They embrace new alternative energy technologies like solar and wind power.
…They depend less upon government and more upon themselves.

New Harvest Homestead puts it this way,”…we have come to embrace the literal meaning of the word which, simply put, means to be ‘steadfast at home’. We want to encourage and assist Christians in rediscovering the practical skills and home arts which were once commonplace in our culture, but have been all but lost to the last couple of generations. We especially want to encourage women who want to give the majority of their time and energy to their families and homes, in contrast to a culture where women are constantly on the go.”

Well, if that’s weird, then count me in. I wanna be as weird as the next homesteader. Bring it on. I have lofty goals, people, I want to buy a deep freeze. And I plan to learn to “can” this summer. Not my own food, mind you, I have no garden and can’t keep simple flowers alive, but someday… Ah, far off, utopian someday… I’m aware that I’m startin’ small, but at least I’m startin’. So, think I’m weird, if you must. That’s okay with me. I don’t mind. But while you’re out there poking around in the cyber-garden, if you come across some great resources for this hush-hush term I’d just love it if you passed them along to me!