We had several life changes last year…some more simple than others. Funny, in striving to live a more simple, purposeful life, I have found that doesn’t necessarily translate into an EASIER life.
The chickens are now residing in a new home. My challenge was not wanting to keep them cooped up. They were fine to wander in our yard and the lot next door, but they started wandering a whole street away. If we kept them cooped up in a chicken yard or the coop itself, we would be buying even more feed. My husband reminded me that this wasn’t what we were aiming for…the cost of feed, due to the cost of corn has been steadily rising. So, a good friend with lots of land and animals took them a few months ago. I’ll admit, I miss them. A lot. But it is probably for the best.
I started working part-time to supplement our income. Our oldest got married on 12/31 and I even picked up an extra part-time job over the holidays to help with the wedding expenses. Working more meant I was less available for my family. Even though the boys are young adults, I still like to be available to them. I also found us eating out or more convenience foods, since I didn’t have time to cook from scratch.
I was so thankful the extra job ended a few days before the wedding! Now we’re entering a different season with one child out of the house and another graduating high school in a few months. I’m looking forward to getting to some creative projects around the home and getting our little garden going again. This is a great time of year to grow lettuce, kale, swiss chard and broccoli.
The older I get, the more home-focused I become. I sometimes look back and wish I had really valued my role as a homemaker when my kids were younger. As I move toward having an empty nest, I’m also looking forward to growing in personal areas and learning new skills that I might pass on to my daughter-in-law and hopefully, grandchildren. I’m blessed that my husband doesn’t want me to go out and find full-time work. We are quite content with my part-time job that is worked mostly from home. A perfect fit for us during this season of transition.
I’m also looking forward to growing and learning from other bloggers and those who visit this blog. I’m committed to giving more and living more purposefully, with more faith in the coming year.