The News of late makes me think we made the right choices

Turning on the television and listening to the news seems to be depressing of late. We have gone amok with our spending, jobs are scarce, people are frightened, and rays of hope seem faint. But all in all, we still have so much more than so many in the world.

In my head I can hear the distant snickers from the folks that thought we were nuts for buying an old house 16 years ago that needed work, lots of it. . Having walls that had no insulation, one room had mold from floor to ceiling, and we completely gutted that room. It had no air conditioning and no central heat, which is still the case. Closets were afterthoughts. Just enough room for minimal clothing for each of us. The house was small, but we knew we could build on in time. The house cost us $17,000. 3 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and one bath. 6 people. Under an acre of land but good land. I am a visionary of sorts and I saw potential and so we bought the house. We tilled for a garden, we built a barn and got goats. Built a chicken house and got chickens. Planted fruit trees and have watched them bear sweet delights each and every year. We saved for a wood stove to heat the house with...deciding not to be dependent on fossil fuel.

We never used a clothes dryer, just a line, the sunshine and the wind. Again, not depending on gas or electricity for what can come naturally from the sunshine. There is still no dishwasher but our hands. We garden organically, and use every inch of our land in one way or another.

Our heat comes from downed, dead wood. Heating our house for a year costs about $200. Kindling is from pruned trees and saved broken branches. Food scraps don't go down some garbage disposal, but back into the soil as compost.

Our house is furnished with things carefully chosen, mostly used furniture. Real wood. Avoiding formaldehyde as much as possible. No carpet. Stained wood flooring. Lots of windows for light and air circulation. Small things perhaps, but combined they add up a bit. Cloth shopping bags, class storage containers. Its been this way for so long, that it is old hat for us. Cotton clothing, wool too, synthetics NO.

Healthy shoes, style is second to comfort and health. Herbs for medicines first, but not opposed to medical intervention when needed. Calm all around us. Silence is comfortable. Hiking is our sport of choice, but we never have seen it as a sport, more of an embracing of nature. Children raised on health food and no babysitters.

Living without what is considered by most as the necessary comforts of life. We even chose to have me stay home and live on one income, that was by the way, below the poverty line for many years, although no one felt poor. Plus we did the unthinkable way back in 1985 and began a 17 year stint of homeschooling all our children.

The news of late, doesn't seem to be part of our existence. We have no debt and not many expenses. Greed just isn't part of our vocabulary. Things are no measure of who we are neither is what we have parked in the garage, well if we had a garage that is. Our home does not inflate our egos. Our favorite restaurant, vegan, but we don't go there often. It is money we could use for something more lasting. Going out to eat didn't happen much when the children were growing up. Pizza once in a while, a big treat.
Goodwill, the store of choice. Recycled clothing !

No need for a gym membership, tried that, got a better workout doing chores.

These have been our choices, to walk a sometimes lonely road, but now, we sure are glad we did. Must have been from all those Mother Earth News I read way back in the 70's. Glad I did.

I guess we live pretty green compared to some, but honestly, we just see it as living gently.