I took a break from blogging for a month to sit back and reflect upon what is most important, where my priorities are, and to consider the future. First and foremost I am thankful for my health and the health of my family. I am thankful for having time with Husband and the kids. I am thankful that we have a roof over our heads, food in the fridge, reliable transportation, a rewarding career, and a supportive social network. I am also thankful for the opportunity to travel with our family and explore new parts of this beautiful country.
When I think about those things that most concern me about the future (issues that are far bigger than me), I hate feeling hopeless or that my fate lies in the hands of others. I, like many, want to secure the future for my children. I want to build upon the positive choices we have made. We have taken steps to get out of debt, save money, obtain skills and education - but how can we take control of our future? What can we build that will endure? What can we teach our kids that will serve them in their future? Our travels showed us the majesty of this great country - how can we be part of the solution in protecting it?
Twenty-some years ago we had a vision of building a homestead. We purchased an unimproved property and very slowly we have made improvements. Our shifting priorities over the years distracted us from the value of investing our time and money into developing the homestead, but now, as I consider the paths available, this option burns brightly. Using this resource and developing a sustainable, off-grid homestead we can develop a life of interdependence with the natural world and one that we can be proud to leave to the next generation.
Creating a homestead from a vacant piece of land is difficult, costly, and time consuming. Though we have made progress over the years, we have a lot more to do before we can call it home. We were able to visit Rancho Status Quo a couple of weekends ago. Each time we visit we start to dream of a livable home with infrastructure improvements to the roads and so forth...We always leave with an idea of what needs to happen next.
Living in the Hideout is teaching us much about what we need. We are very comfortable in 200 square feet - and we know that a very nice living space can be crafted with just a bit more. We recently walked through IKEA to look at their tiny home floor plans - 500 square feet seems like so much space now! If Rancho Status Quo was livable it would be a very low cost place to live (taxes are the single reoccuring expense)...
Well those are my most recent thoughts...stay tuned for a history of the work we have done to improve the land over the past 20 years and an inventory of the projects that are still outstanding. What is the take away point? This year is going to be less about travel and more about closing this open loop in our life. Rancho Status Quo is going to become a reality.
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