Friday, December 14, 2012

Ford's Mill Sunset


Coming home to the farm one evening last week,  I turned onto the next to the last country road before ours and saw this .... a gorgeous fat sun slipping out of sight.  I pulled over to the side of the road and snapped a hurried picture just as it disappeared.

Turning onto that road seems to send a signal to my body .... ahhh,  you're almost home.  The traffic and busy-ness of town fades away.  I can almost feel my heart rate slow.  Though I didn't grow up in the country,  I've lived there most of my adult life and I can't imagine living anywhere else.  I know there will come a time when it's just too difficult physcially to stay on the farm and maybe I will be mentally prepared for leaving by then.  I don't know.  A few years ago,  when I stepped on a garden tool that went through my boot and into my foot,  Mike told me that he had an epiphany.  He said it suddenly came to him that leaving the farm might not be a decision we come to slowly and in our own good time.  There may come a moment when something drastic happens and the decision is taken out of our hands.  We have acknowledged that neither of us could manage it alone.  There's just too much work,  too much involved in keeping things even marginally presentable around here.    I do think we've reached the stage where we are no longer adding things to the mix.  There have been no new species of animals lately and no new building projects undertaken,  though both of those are continuing temptations. 

I've been thinking a lot about these things lately because I've had an on-going physical problem with one of my shoulders.   I've had trouble sleeping and being able to comfortably do the chores I need to do.  It's been a not so pleasant reminder of aging and the limitations of my own body.   I'm setting some fitness goals for myself for the new year and am thinking about how to be more creative and productive, yet more relaxed in my daily life.  What do you think?  Is that even possible? 

8 comments:

  1. YES, it's possible! (And gorgeous photo!)

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  2. I sure hope it's possible! I'm having to accept, also, that pace and activity has to change a little, but adjustments are necessary. I wish you well and happy holidays. Your blog adds so much to my life. Thank you for sharing.

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  3. If anyone knows how I sure hope they will share it! There are already too few hours in the day and days in the week, etc. to get it all done, let alone the fun/pretty/creative stuff. Happily, I've given up cleaning entirely unless company's coming and that's opened up quite a bit of breathing room on the chore list! :-)

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  4. Given up cleaning unless company is coming. I have limited the company aspect too. My car goes in any direction to a great place to eat and talk. Just once a year I tidy up the main rooms and invite them in. For a couple hours, there is only so much they can find and I keep them busy. That leaves a lot of time for my passions that do not include "cleaning". On the aging problem, I make myself do aerobics each week and walk the dogs every day. Sometimes I don't feel like doing it but they are always at the door with encouragement and out we go and feel better for it. I have fibromyalgia and some arthritis so pain is always there. I have been able to keep it to a tolerable level and I am now in my early 70's.

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  5. EVERYTHING is possible!

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  6. It's possible. You learn to pick and choose. If I NEED to do 'this" tomorrow than I need to arrange today so that I will be able to. If I tend to firewood today, for example, I won't be building/fixing fence tomorrow. And Learn to ask for help.
    There is always more than one way to do something. Sometimes it takes a while to figure it out.

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  7. I'm sure it's possible, just a little hard to sort out at first. We want to be able to do everything! Keeping active, stretching and getting enough sleep seem to be the big ones. Actually DOING that is a whole other thing :) But we keep trying.

    Thanks so much for writing. I love your beautiful pictures and crafts. Wishing you and your family a happy, peaceful, Merry Christmas!

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  8. One of our neighbors just passed away at 102, he lived on the farm his entire life! Very fortunate.

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