Why do we do this?

That is the burning question. It isn't easy. In fact it is HARD WORK! Up at 6:30, feed kids, feed animals, milk goats, off to work, slog through traffic there and back, feed kids again, do laundry, feed animals, milk goats, collect eggs, pasteurize milk, wash eggs, make bread, collapse in to bed at 10:30 which is way past bedtime.

So I wonder....is it worth it? It certainly doesn't make life any easier and it definitely isn't saving us any money.  But the thought of giving it up is out of the question. Having fresh goat milk = fresh feta, yogurt, chevre. Fresh eggs = lots of yummy breakfasts and no last minute trips to the store because I forgot eggs for the cake I am baking. Dog = joy for the kids (when she's not chewing up her toys). Cats = something to cuddle with when P is working late (I can forget the occasional puke on the floor). Kids = life and energy and imagination and fun (when they aren't whining or fighting). 

We have to make sacrifices. No cable TV - mainly because we don't have time and don't want the expense, but also because it is too easy to get sucked in to hours on the couch being unproductive. Hardly any time for reading. No spontaneous trips. Have to arrange our evening outings around the milking schedule.

I think it is especially hard right now because we are still in the aftermath of moving. And since we are working opposing schedules we are on our own for organizing and repairing. It is always so much easier doing those things with help and at the very least, company.

In the end though, it is worth it. We get to be more self sufficient than most people. And we get the sense of accomplishment that goes along with making and raising our own food. Hopefully we are healthier by eating off our land as much as possible and avoiding processed foods. And the kids have amazing imaginations because they use their minds instead of sitting in front of the tv eating after school.

Though sometimes at the end of the day when I collapse in to bed sore and tired I question why. The answer always is the same - because it's the way I want to live my life. So I drift off to sleep planning out the new garden in my head....