Determined to Homestead

    During my elementary years, I grew up living with my grandparents, who were homesteaders.  At the time, the word "homestead" was not one I was familiar with, although it was a very old word.  Instead, I would say that we lived on a small farm, which was also true.  

    We raised cattle that would later end up on our table.  We bought hogs from another farm that we'd have slaughtered.  I distinctly remember helping my grandpa make homemade sausage using a hand meat grinder in the basement of our home.  We raised rows and rows of strawberries that my grandparents would sell, and I was happy to help them pick quart after quart to be sold.  And I was paid for my efforts!  

    I remember a very large garden and breaking beans on the front porch.  I also remember picking tomatoes off the vine and eating them just like I would an apple.  Speaking of apples, my grandpa also had an impressive orchard.  We had apples, peaches, and plums and made our own cider.  My grandma could be found in the kitchen all summer and fall cooking and canning and blanching and freezing.  

    And let me tell you, I loved it.  Anyone who knows me knows I love food.  My waistline proves it and when I put something delicious in my mouth, I can often be caught doing my happy food dance.  But let me be clear, I love GOOD food.  And I think my love for such food came from learning about it and how to grow it, and seeing a squash in the garden in the morning and seeing it again on my plate that night for supper. 

    My appreciation for food, and especially home grown food has followed me through life.  After graduating college and living in a small duplex, I still grew tomatoes in a small pot on my back patio.  Later, having my own backyard where I could have a full fledged garden was thrilling to me.  And then even later, when I had a larger yard and was able to preserve my own food, I was so excited!  

    So, in all honesty, I've always been a homesteader.  It isn't anything new, but the word has only crept it's way into my vocabulary in the past few years.  What's great about homesteading is that there isn't a specific definition.  If you are growing your own food, or even just cooking your meals from scratch, you could consider yourself a homesteader, or at least a beginning one.  You get to decide.  

    A few years ago, however, I began to see the reality of how important it is.  Over the years, I've read several books about food, factory farming, agriculture, etc., and I would always do a little better than I had before, but the truth is that I have come to believe that our government controlled food industry is slowing killing us, and on purpose.  Food is supposed to sustain us and keep us healthy.  But much of what we purchase at grocery stores and restaurants is doing the opposite.  

    When I joined the revolution of homeschooling, I decided it would be worth it to go all in and also join the revolution of homesteaders.  It has been a slow process, but I have learned much about preserving food, growing food, raising animals, and even how to better shop at the grocery when there is a need.  I'm no expert, and likely never will be, but I do consider myself to be a lifelong learner.  So that's what I'm doing.  I'm learning and applying it to my life and the life of my family.  

    I believe that God gave us delicious food to enjoy and keep us going.  Eating can be a worship experience, and certainly one of fellowship, as food is what really brings people together.  After all, how many weddings (or even funerals) have you been to where a meal wasn't present?  We find food at sporting events, reunions, birthday parties, and anywhere else you go where people are gathered.  

    I want my children to learn the importance of good food like I did.  And even more than that, I want them to have the type of childhood I had where they can run barefoot, wade in the water, fish, swim, kayak, play, cook, and use their imaginations.  I want them to spend the majority of their day exploring and just being kids.  And where better to do that than a homestead?

    In addition to my appreciation for food, I have also become very leery of anything to do with pharmaceuticals.  I understand that some things are needed, and there isn't another option.  I am grateful that there are lifesaving medicines that have been developed that may not have been around even a few years ago.  As a migraine sufferer, I know that a medication I take has completely changed my life.  

    However, I also believe that the food industry and pharmaceutical companies have their hands in each others pockets, and are helping one another along.  In the past few years, my husband and I have found ourselves taking medications to treat symptoms instead of cure the problem.  And it always seems to come with an unwanted side effect.  So, we've decided that if it isn't a necessary medication, we don't need it.  We treat what we can at home using our own remedies and those that have stood the test of time.  If that means we are going backwards in time, so be it.  

    Homesteading is a lifestyle I enjoy embracing and learn more about every day.  It is making a comeback in a big way, and I am here for it.  Join us as we continue on our homesteading journey.