I’m no farmer

Let me preface this by saying the following- I am not a farmer. My “farmhouse” is moreso a petting zoo than a real farm. We have two pigs, two goats, and hopefully more eventually.

The beginning of the pandemic and before the official lockdown of Washington state we decided to buy a house. Just for fun, like I usually do as a harmless pastime, I was scrolling through Zillow. I saw a house settled on almost 2 acres & had a barn.

My husband is the voice of reason in our relationship. Once he saw it he immediately agreed to check it out. We fell in love but I was more excited about all the LAND. Now 2 acres might not seem like a lot of land. However we had just come from a subdivision home with a postage stamp lot so this was huge to us.

Countless people have shared the power of nature with me. Knowing I struggle with a mental illness they encouraged me to be outside as much as possible. I live in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Spending time out in nature did not sound appealing to me. Now that we owned a home with land opened so many possibilities in my head.

I was joking with my girlfriends one night & said “hey maybe I’ll get a mini pig!” Soon the idea was cemented in my head. I became obsessed with it, devouring every pig book I could find.

My husband agreed to the pigs as long as we could get goats. My heart soared. Afterwards we spent a month getting the barn & fencing properly secured.

It’s been about three months since I’ve had the animals. People who supported me & even the naysayers both said “it’s not going to be easy”. And it hasn’t been. I wake up earlier now than I did when my boys were babies. I spent the first month covered in bug bites. The pigs are also escape artists which is something I had to learn the hard way. But anything worth having doesn’t come easy.

Being out in nature and surrounded with animals is exactly what I needed. It is my self care & my break when I need to step away. Self care has many definitions for people. It can be as simple as making sure you drank a lot of water that day.

For me, I thought just being with my children would sustain my happiness. They are the blessings in my life. However I know that a moment to myself out with the animals makes me a better mom in the long run.

So treat yo self. Find something, big or small, to bring a little joy into your day. And to all my mamas- it’s ok to need a break sometimes.