Some days on the homestead can be challenging even under the best of circumstances so when things don't go right it sure can knock the wind right out of your sails!

I was so proud of my husband for rebuilding the engine in my truck. He is a diesel engine specialist not gas engine. He tells me there is quite a bit of difference, I'll have to believe him because I wouldn't know! We bought the manual and in his spare time, now that's a joke because he works 7 days a week most of the time, he rebuilt it.

I took a lot of flack from friends and family about my choice not to get a new vehicle . You gotta have transportation they said.
Well. I agree I do have a lot of months to feed here. Y'all ain't even seen half my critters here on Steemit . Lol

The gardens are not all in, fruit trees need to be planted and the root cellar has to be dug so yes I still have to go to the grocery. But ya know what we managed. It took some patience and planning but saved us thousands! These people don't get that once I build up the hay fields and the gardens I won't have to spend my time and money in town. We will have everything we need right there on the land!

They don't get that we completely understand living life on their terms. We worked J. O. B. 's for many years. My husband is still punching someone else's time clock.
Because we live off grid they act like we are out of touch with reality. When in fact the reality of the situation is exactly WHY we chose to go off grid.

I spent years of my life sitting in a car traveling back and forth to jobs sometimes working multiple jobs to accomplish our goals. Countless hours sitting in college classes working towards a degree that would add very little value to my life. Both took me away from my husband and my daughter. Instead of adding value they robbed me of my most valuable asset. Time.
I can't get it back. All those times when my daughter was in after-school, all the times I missed out on their weekend fishing trips and all the dinners I was absent from. I can't get it back. I can't change the past but I can take more control of my future. When we made the decision to change our lives and start transitioning to a more natural lifestyle it was the first time in many years I saw the future as bright.

I guess mostly they just don't get that we want to live debt free. Living in debt is something we have considerable experience with. I understand that while your deep in debt it looks and feels like there is no other way and maybe since they nor their spouses have the skills for such a repair like building an engine maybe it really is beyond their comprehension! I don't know. But I do know that a down payment on a car and payments wouldn't fit our budget for moving to the land. Going back into debt would be a giant step backwards for us!
Getting our road finished so we can move in is a priority for us! We made our decision based on what fit our needs not others expectations. It's very empowering to be able to do that!

So when I broke down this week I was like OH NO. It was unrelated to the engine and a simple fix but I sat on the side of the road half the day rather than call one of em. I just didn't want to hear it. I respect their decision to buy into the system and I just wish they could respect our decision to NOT be a slave to the bank.

Y'all, I'm living life on MY terms. I don't care what other people think. I try to be a good neighbor, a good friend, a good sister, a good caretaker, mother and wife. Living peacefully and trying to walk as lightly on the earth as I can.
This is our life and it's our choice to make. If we don't make it work out we will handle that business ourselves. We don't ask for help. We're the ones people come to FOR help!

So while that breakdown knocked the wind out of my sails for a minute I realized I wouldn't trade my life for any other.

Yeah, there's a chance our stubborn determination to develop this land into a permaculture paradise might be the death of us. Haha
But while they were rushing around this morning to get to the job they hate I was out snuggling with Big Duck.

Ain't he handsome!

And when they were swallowing their food whole so they wouldn't be late punching the clock after lunch I was getting kissed by a miniature horse. My Toby likes to give kisses. It's the cutest darn thing!

At the end of the day when they were driving their shiney new car home to their big old house where they can't afford to pay the power bill, exhausted from working to pay for it all and dreading having doing it all over again tomorrow.... I will probably be out cooking dinner in my Solar Cooker and watching the sunflowers being kissed by butterflies. I can see why they are so concerned about me living this peasants lifestyle . Lol

I don't want to be like one of them .... I'm not afraid to stand up...

I wanna be the one that's not afraid to reach for the sky and chase my dreams!! Y'all,
I just want to live free!
@SugarCreek

All original photos taken by me with my cheap cell phone 😎