My dream

I have a goal in life, and that goal is to one day own a homestead or a farm. I am a city girl and I have an ok life here in Calgary, Alberta, but my husband and I feel like we are working to pay bills and we don’t like it. When I was looking into alternative lifestyles one thing always came up, self-reliance. The definition of self-reliance is to supply ones needs without external supply. To me that sounds ideal. So I am making the changes now in my home to prepare to be self-suffient. Marvin J. Ashton said, “Planting and harvesting a garden annually is helpful to families in many ways, including the food budget.” I drive school bus, and I love my job. However I don’t work during the summertime, and as much as I love that, I don’t like that I don’t earn a paycheck. Every year my husband and I plan for this loss of income, by stocking up on supplies we need for those 2 months. However we cannot stock up on fresh vegetables. In order to fill this gap we plant a garden. I find a lot of joy watching my vegies grow and even more joy when we harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labor. I love teaching my kids to grow as well and delight in seeing their happy faces as they check their plants progress. I feel peace and serenity as I weed and stake up plants. I love the buzzing bees that make my garden flourish, and spend hours watching them fly around. Not only do I see the financial benefits of a garden but as the years go by, I am realizing the mental benefits planting a garden brings. It is a place where I can release my stress. To you this may just be a seed packet, but to me I see hope. Hope that one day I can live a life that is completely self-suffient. I truly believe that life has become too complicated. We have become programmed to buy the next best thing, or to have the fancy houses and cars. I know there has to be another way. Although my plans to own a homestead may seem outrageous to you. I know that the little steps to being self-reliant can bring happiness and peace to you in your life.