Moving to a farm or out in the country more generally grants you a lot of time. It’s weird, at first, because you have so much work to do. At first you keep charging through your to-do list thinking you can get your five year list of projects down to a six month list. Eventually though, the adrenaline from buying your dream home and farm wears off and you slow down. You finally relax and let yourself enjoy your new life.
This morning I woke up and told myself I was going to move a massive wood pile. It’s scrap from having our dilapidated deck rebuilt and our contractor dumped it in our front lawn area. Erica and I decided that it would be best for our sanity (and our underground pasture) if we burnt it elsewhere and, so, it’s gotta be moved.
So, after an hour of tinkering with my personal blog (I’m a great procrastinator), I grabbed my gloves and walked outside to move some wood. When I get outside, however, I saw a family of deer staring at me. They were so close! I had to run inside and grab my camera. When I got back outside though, I tried to figure out how I could get even closer. It turns out that this young family was pretty cool. By speaking animal for “hey don’t mind me I’m just passing through” I was able to walk right up to them! I got to within about 20 feet until the closest deer got nervous and started walking off, so I slowly turned around and walked away so they could finish enjoying their breakfast.
When you have all this time, you need to seize the moments that matter! Life isn’t about moving a pile of wood or putting floors in or finishing all your home projects in your first year. It’s about the memories we create in these precious moments.
