I was asked recently how I made the transition to a homestead lifestyle later in life and how I convinced my family to go along with me. When we first bought the farm, my youngest was 15, and oldest 21. My husband and I past 45. Did I drag them along kicking and screaming? Had I pushed them into something they never signed up for? I admit, I grew up in the burbs. Very urban burbs. So did my husband. I started my working career in Michigan at an auto manufacturer. I was going to be an engineer. I pursued the bigger and better and kept up with the Jones. I traded my car out when it needed new tires because you would always have a car payment, right? I remember when I was in the thick of it all thinking wow, this new house is like a mansion. I never thought I could live somewhere like this! I must've really made it! I had 3 kids, a 2 incomes, a huge house (in my opinion), lived in the burbs where the talk of the neighborhood was who was having the party and whose husband is sleeping around. The American dream. Or was it? I began to look around and was more dissatisfied then ever. This life was shallow and boring. It was never actually what I wanted. How did I end up here? The kids had practice or a school function, fast food was a staple, wake up, keep the schedule, rush home, sleep, repeat.

As far back as I can remember, I always loved animals and the outdoors and yet I was living inside this big space with locked doors! My fondest memories are when my mom would take me to a friends house. A friend that we were so close with, we called them aunt and uncle and cousins. They lived "in the country". They had a big garden, a large plot of property, chickens and their grandma always cooked the best green beans! I want to say that one day a light bulb went off and I decided, but that's not how it happened. In the middle of the rushing around, I got dogs, then cats, then I heard about chickens! How cool would it be to get chickens? Backyard chickens are a thing now and Georgia made it a law to allow them regardless of your HOA. You know that silly freedom thing and the right to property and food. Yeah that one. I lived in a subdivion guys, and I was getting backyard chickens! I thought oh boy the neighbors are going to love me! I never missed a good challenge so we dove in. Chickens are a gateway animal. They are super easy and they dont make noise (if you dont get a rooster). The kids were like mom is crazy but cool let's help! So here we are with 6 laying hens in our subdivision backyard in a coop we made out of the neighbors old fence. It was almost completely recycled. It wasn't to be green or anything, it was really just an opportunity. My husband loves to build things so he was on board too. The chickens didn't require time and we got eggs every day. Sweet! No buying grocery store eggs anymore! Hey, I don't need to rely on the store? This will be a big time saver as I never had time to go grocery shopping anyway. What else can I replace? Let's try bread! Yes, even as a busy mom of 3 there was 15 minutes to bake bread AND it was so much better than the store bought bread! Fun! How about a garden? Let's convert the kids sand box to a garden! Done! The kids loved to plant and pick and see everything grow! My husband had always been a veggie lover and now he had fresh tomoatoes and cucumbers! Stick a seed in, see what came out! BAM! Fresh veggies.

Then, my neighbor planted cypress trees. The kind that grew really tall. I think he really didn't like seeing my chickens and garden. Sometimes it was messy, I'll admit it, I was a busy mom and garden cleanup wasn't my favorite chore and the chickens had tamped down the ground in the run so no grass grew in that small patch. The neighbor was nice about it. He never complained. A perfect neighbor really. He just did what he needed to live within the world he was in and be happy. I could never fault anyone for that. BUT, it shaded my garden. A garden without sun meant no more yummy veggies. I took a risk and started a veggie bed in the FRONT yard! You would've thought I painted my house bright yellow! Someone turned me in to the HOA. Apparently you can't grow edible food in the front. You know that freedom thing for chickens? Not really the case for plants apparently. Forget about the winter kale everyone grew around their mailbox or the dandelions that popped up, I was forbidden from growing perfectly manicured, weeded and mulched peppers strictly because they were edible! What plants are allowed I asked? We don't have a list the HOA says, I just needed permission first and I had none. Well if there is no list, why can't I grow peppers? They are neat and tidy, in pretty rows, even on a curve in an ornamental bed that had previously had annual flowers and peppers are after all annuals and have flowers! NO said the HOA. So what did I do? I planted a big patch of corn and strawberries! I am such a rebel. And I decided I needed out of an HOA. Let's get acreage I said. Let's get a property with a barn and horses! Now the girls were on board 100%! My husband wanted an airstrip for his future plane so we started the hunt! 5 years later we found the perfect spot. 11.5 acres, near the old place so my middle daughter could finish high school. With the permission of the youngest daughter we moved her school between 10-11 grade. We toured the new school and they had a great Agriculture program that she fell in love with! My oldest was off serving in the Navy and we were all set! The farm came with a barn and 2 fenced pastures. My dogs were in heaven with all the space to run! We added 2 horses that we got for a steel with all the TAC included. Then we added a few goats. That grew and grew to now we have 5 horses, 13 goats (plus all the yearly babies) that we milk, more chickens, a bigger garden, a green house and some really great neighbors that don't mind if our yard is sometimes a little messy! We have replaced eggs, milk, bread, veggies from the gorcery store. Are we 100%? No, but it sure is nice to know when that storm is coming, we don't have to rush to the store where everyone already bought the milk eggs!