May 2, 2017
Buying this land is the biggest project Nathanael and I have taken on so far and we thought we’d taken on some pretty intimidating projects already, HA, what a cute thought. At times, it feels like we’ve taken on a bit more than we can handle with this one - continuing to run Long Family Tree Service successfully, constantly fixing equipment and tools that never cease to break down at the worst possible times, trying to figure out where to even start with this land (there is an incredible amount to be done here), and also paying everything out of pocket since the thought of debt is quite terrifying to us - it’s overwhelming! And all while living in a 32ft fifth wheel camper currently with no running water or electricity here on the land. Hello to working in candle light, baby wipe baths, and bathroom a la cornfield! We’re probably crazy. . . actually yes, I'll admit it we truly are just crazy kids. . . But it’s a crazy exciting journey!
We bought this land because we wanted to. Not because we had to. We did it because we wanted to enjoy it, not be overwhelmed and discouraged by it. . . And that is what we are learning to do. It will be a process and more often than not it’ll feel like a long one but we know it’ll be worth it.
Camper Life
Living in a camper with no running water or electricity has taught us how much we crave simplicity - how busy we make our lives with silly little nothings. Now, that’s not to say we’re not working on getting some amenities out here as soon as possible, but it puts into perspective the difference between what is truly important and what it just stuff we think we need and can’t live without. And in most cases plagues our lives of doing great things. Simple, simple, simple, that is what we crave. Although, we’re having to make our lives a little more hectic right now in order to achieve simplicity.
If you view every obstacle as a block in the road or a reason to quit that’s all you’ll ever find. A million roadblocks and a million reasons to quit. Or worse, you won't even start at all. But if you accept them as a challenge, an opportunity to grow, to achieve, to learn - I promise you’ll be all the better for it.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty. . . I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” - Theodore Roosevelt
“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” - Vince Lombardi
“Follow your dreams. I am not saying it’s going to be easy, but I am saying it’s going to be worth it.” - Moffat Machingura
Always end the day on a good note. . . No matter how discouraging or stressful our day is we always try and end it doing something simple that we enjoy - fishing in our pond, sitting by a campfire, listening to classical music over a bottle of wine. . . usually a combination. But we always do it together because at the end of it all no dream or aspiration is worth sacrificing a relationship with the loveliest husband who seems to always be in as little clothing as he can get away with. ^^^
Want To Follow Our Venture?
If you’d like to follow our venture I’d love to see you follow our pages @ThePreludeXII on Facebook and Instagram. I hope to encourage people to not deify common sense and to go all in for their passions and purpose and if this only encourages one single person to do that than it's more than worth it!