Yesterday at church, my husband and I noticed something- we were 2 of about 10 choir members who showed up. Yikes! Our director, our pianist, and numerous members were all sick with the flu!
Fast forward from yesterday to 8:00AM this morning…
I woke with chills, aches, and a fever. When we went to wake up our son, we found he had several accidents through the night, straight out of his diaper. The poor thing was so tired he didn’t even wake up. So then that mess had to be cleaned up- sheets, floor, bed, stuffed animals, all of it. We got him cleaned up in the bath and my husband was great and helped me out to the point of being late for work and missing breakfast, the poor guy.
As the day has progressed, I managed to snooze a bit while the kids were napping, and the fever has mostly broken at this point.
I say all this to say, the homestead doesn’t give you a sick day. I still had to feed the chickens, dogs, and bunny. We had 8 berry bushes (5 heritage raspberry, 3 blueberry) and 8 bare root trees arrive today. Rather than over do it, I followed the procedure to delay planting for a week by ensuring the roots stay moist.
But the thing is, running a household with two small kiddos is a challenge in and of itself. Let alone maintaining the animals health and care.add sickness to the mix and it’s really a matter of mind over matter and doing what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like it. It’s also important to know your own limits.
We made trade-offs in choosing this lifestyle. We don’t travel very far anymore, because we can’t leave the animals unattended and we can’t really fit them all in the car with us. But the beauty is that we are living in relationship to the land and putting down some roots, providing stability and a more natural diet and simple lifestyle for our children.
It’s a really big commitment that should definitely be considered thoroughly and prayed over before jumping in. And it’s imperative that your spouse/family members be on board with the responsibility. Thankfully, my husband and I are on the same page and he is a great father and takes care of us. I don’t tell him that nearly often enough.
Wholly Holy Living 