Filed under: November 2013 | Tags: butchering, dreams, life plan, Life's journey
Snow covered sap road
November 16, 2013
Why is it that when the way seems so clear, we often deviate from the obvious?
Life takes us on some interesting journeys. I remember thinking, back in high school, that I was going to be a butcher. I planned, studied, worked for free and did anything that I could do to learn the butcher’s trade. I was sure that my career choice was a good one. I held that dream for almost twenty years. I did indeed become a butcher. I learned all aspects of that trade and even became quite good at it.
Farming has been a part of my life since before I was born. In fact, the night I was born, my mother had to quit the evening milking to go to the hospital to have me 😮 It feeds my soul to be around animals and to have my hands in the dirt! It took me a while to find my way, but now I farm everyday. It makes me whole and keeps me grounded.
I did not inherit a farm. I had to find a piece of ground that fit my vision. I had to buy that ground and everything that went with it. I learned to build, to repair and to find a way where no way existed. My dream always in sight, my goals defined and my shoulder to the wheel.
I have the blessing of a good wife who believes in me and shares my vision. She lets me farm, trusts in my decisions and loves me beyond measure. This makes my dream possible and my goal a reality. She simply lets me be me.
When I was young, I could only see myself in the career of meatcutting. I persisted even when things went bad. The jobs were low paying. The work was hard. I bit off a bigger payment than I could make when I bought a slaughterhouse of my own. After a long fight, I gave up, closed the business and moved on.
The next few years things changed for me, but I stayed close to the land. That is what kept me grounded, satisfied my soul and let me dream again. I took a job in a factory that helped me to dig out from under a mountain of debt that led the way to be here on my farm today.
I am glad to have had the bumps along the way. It gives me character. It educated me and helped me to become more flexible. My hands now work where my heart is happy. I still work the off farm job to make ends meet and continue to pay down debt. My goal now is to get squared away and work to become a full-time farmer …what ever that means 😮
It is important to follow your heart in love and life. Define your plan and keep your goals in sight. If things change…adapt…don’t lose sight of your vision for your life.
Incidently, the farm wash-house where we will butcher our meat, wash vegetables and extract honey is almost completed. I will farm and I will tap my butchering skills every now and then, allowing myself to scratch an old itch. So, is it a vision or is it tunnel vision? You decide.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
RicelandMeadows 