In The Beginning

My story really begins a couple years ago. We were living in Cincinnati, and we had recently had our third child. We enjoyed living there; my husband had a good job, there were tons of activities for the kids, lots of food and culture, and entertainment, and most important, my best friend in the whole world was there (Hello if you read this Allyson). But despite the great things the city had for us, we missed our family, the open country, and fresh air. So in 2014 we moved back to northern Ohio.

We moved into a modest house with a nice fenced yard in a small city (population about 17k). Since we moved in June we didn't do much of anything that summer. But the next summer, as I was several months pregnant with our 4th child, I put in my first raised beds and planted so many of my favorites that I grew up with in my grandpa's garden: tomatoes, peppers, green onions, cabbage, and yellow beans. This proved to be a catalyst for my family. My husband confessed to dreaming of having a large garden, orchard, animals, and more. My kids ate fresh tomatoes and beans straight from the vine.

The next spring the garden grew, almost doubling in size. There was talk of getting chickens, and we started planning the coop and breeds we wanted. Then my father in law became very ill and was diagnosed with cancer. All talk of expansion ceased, and the garden lay neglected for half the summer. Then in August of 2016 my father in law passed away. He was not an old man. He hadn't even retired from his career. And he had just started doing the things with his life he wanted to do, like buying the long dreamed about boat he was only able to truly enjoy for one summer.

It's funny how these tragic events often have a way of creating positive growth in some families. My husband and I realized we had to do something to secure a better future for our family. I wanted to go back to work, but the childcare costs alone would eat up nearly every bit of money I would earn. Then accounting for travel, business attire, etc. we might actually have ended up losing money.

So I spent months contemplating how I could provide for and support my family without a traditional out of the home job. And here I am, in March 2017 ready to begin my journey into homesteading. I am quite literally at the very beginning of this path. It is sure to be long, slow, and sometimes painful, but ultimately a rewarding journey. I haven't created this blog to provide a model of the "right way" to start your homestead. In fact, I'm here for quite the opposite reason; I'm hoping you can help me to be a better homesteader. Help me to avoid common pitfalls and learn from my mistakes. And help me to celebrate and be grateful for my successes in this adventure.

I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
The Ohio Homesteader