A Very Big Announcement

Well, there's been a lot of soul searching, a lot of discussion with my wife, and a lot of praying. And the decision has been made. It was actually made a couple of weeks ago, but the turning point is just around the corner. So, here it is:

As of this Friday, I am retiring.

Okay, that's rather dramatic. But I am leaving my job, and I'm not looking for another one. I've been looking, but nothing has come up that would fit the circumstances our family is in. And so, as of Friday I am going to be home, full-time, working on the farm. Raising the animals, growing food, doing building projects...yeah, I'm taking the plunge.

Why? Especially in this economy, with jobs being hard to find and inflation hitting us hard? Because it's necessary. And it's a leap of faith, no question. But the truth is, this was inevitable. This is what we've been moving toward for three years now, ever since we started looking eastward for our family move.

I've spent my life jumping from job to job, hobby to hobby, always looking for something that was the right fit. I've worked in fast food, book stores, grocery, teaching, music, insurance, telemarketing, telephone customer service, bookkeeping...and nothing, not even the book stores, gave me a sense of satisfaction, or made me feel I was doing something truly worthwhile.

And ever since we moved here, I've had that feeling when I worked on the farm, whether it was feeding the chickens, digging out a garden, planting seeds, even building a rabbit hutch. This feels like it matters, like nothing else ever has. For the past three years, I've been drawn more and more to this life, and I'm finally surrendering. And while it's scary as hell, it's also exciting and amazing at the same time.

Frankly, when I stop to think about it, it's not at all surprising. After all, what was the very first thing God commanded Adam and Eve to do, after telling them to have lots of kids? He commanded them to till the land and keep it, and to have dominion over the land and the creatures on it. It doesn't get any more elemental than that. So really, I'm just doing what God told me to do.

So far, we've had a lot of support from friends and neighbours, as well as family. Which is gratifying, to say the least, not to mention surprising. In a good way. We will need that moral support in the months to come as we go through this change.

So, what does this mean? Well, it means that I'm going to be able to give the gardens the attention they will need. Instead of a couple of days a week plus evenings, I'll be full-time in the gardens, using them to their fullest capacity. I'm planning to enroll in a couple of courses that will help me maximize the garden's output so we have enough not only for ourselves, but also to sell. After all, there are still bills to pay. And there's a lot of work to do on the farm that I just don't have time to do when working at a full-time job, things that absolutely have to get done.

It's a big deal, I know. And it's going to be an incredible journey, one that I wish I could have taken years ago, but one that I wasn't ready to take until now. But I am ready, and so is the rest of the family. And yes, I'm still going to write. And I'll have more time for that, too.