My family survived what I thought was impossible. We managed to sell our home in a very slow market and buy our dream home twenty minutes away. We had many obstacles to overcome, drama, house repairs but everything worked out.
My husband and I have an immense feeling of satisfaction. We have been dreaming of acreage out in the country since we first started dating while I was still in High school. To say our dream finally came true would be an understatement. We have moved to our dream house and hopefully our forever home.
The one slight downfall in all of this, is our home is located in a town of around 2,000 people with poor internet connection. That’s not to say the internet will not be sufficient for my blogging needs but it will not have the speed we’re accustomed to.
We bought the house from a religious couple with nine children. They were a technology free family. The children roamed the woods around the property, built forts, raised chickens and rode around on dirt bikes. This is exactly the kind of upbringing I have always envisioned for my daughters. However, it was quite an interesting challenge to move into this big home and not have cable TV or internet. In fact, for the first three days we weren’t even able to play any movies as the TV cords were missing in action.
We immersed ourselves into the lifestyle of simple living. To be honest, it was a pleasant change. The nights are dark and quiet without city lights. My husband built a fire in our large brick fireplace. I watched him enjoy himself as he built the fire in one of those, “Man make fire” moments! It was totally cute and just a little sexy. Originally, we had never planned to use the fireplace unless the power was out. We sat around the fireplace, talking, laughing and enjoying the Christmas tree.
The kids played downstairs, organizing their rooms, spreading their toys everywhere, playing on the indoor basketball hoop the previous owners left us. My daughter even deconstructed her largest Lego set, which I might add was put together by me, and rebuilt it! My phone ran out of data so I endured a few days without Facebook and even managed to take a week long break from my blog.
We ate meals together as a family, sitting around our table. The kids explored the yard and found treasures left from the previous children, little toys and polished rocks. We also have it on good authority that many fort building tools were left out in the woods.
My husband and I have spent nearly every night, sitting in the home sauna, soaking up the heat and actually relaxing. At night, we hear nothing but silence. Sleep is finally easy to come by. I worried about not having the constant comfort of my phone at hand but found that idea to be ridiculous. As a society we have become far too addicted to our smart phones and the instant gratification it brings. This week, though busy and full of work, felt almost like a vacation.
We have dreams for our new home. A large garden, a chicken coop, clearing some of the land, adding on to the shop and building a patio. We feel for the first time in our lives as if all our hard work has finally paid off.
Yesterday, we had cable TV installed. Tomorrow the internet will be installed. Our technology free week will have come to an end. There is a small part of me that is sad but also, we have to make livings. We both work in careers that require technology but out here in this country, surrounded by trees, hills and mountains, it feels removed from civilization. We love it and we wouldn’t have it any other way, even if it means a slower internet connection.
