Keeping It Simple

Every once in a while I need to sit down and remind myself why we have chosen to live a homestead sort of life. It started out as a combination of beliefs and a desire to live on a single income that was not what you would call substantial, now it is all about the choice to live apart from the pressure of society to live according to the peer pressure to have this or that.

Today, I watched Mei-Ling wander through the garden, and munch on fresh spinach right from the plant and play in the dirt, examine chicken feathers and kitten whiskers. I saw the delight on her face as she fed the goats leaves and bits of grass. I watched her chew on mint from the mint patch and ride on the old hobby horse on the back porch as if she was riding a fine real pony to some land of make-believe. I saw her write letters in the dirt with a stick and pocket handfuls of stones that she found to be simply beautiful. Watching her was just like watching my own little ones all over again and it reminded me of why we have chosen this simple life. A life comparatively absent from many of the things folks have decided are "must haves". I sat on the back porch watching a child discover all the things that to this day still thrill my soul. Birds singing, clouds flying over head and yes, even laundry flapping in the breeze. Mei-Ling stopped in her tracks and watched the snowy white curtains on the line dance in the wind. She called to me and said, "Mimi, so pretty !" and I agreed.

This is a life of simplicity and yet its hard work, but the kind of work and play that blends together so easily that you often forget that you are working. It is the kind of life that makes children ready for naps and insomnia something you only hear about.

The rain has arrived, giving me time to sit by the window and watch it fall and hear it on the roof as I knit on some socks for next winter. Keeping it simple, day to day.