Homesteading Is Romantic

I have been reading here and there that some homesteaders are not too thrilled about something. Rewarding those whose lives are already perfect. Sounds a little odd doesn't it? But in the world of homesteading, there is no such thing as perfection, and those that claim to have it are either liars or overly optimistic.

I will say that my life is perfect for me, but I will not sit here and tell you only the flowery romantic side of this life. It is misleading and irresponsible for me to do so. I started this blog a few years back. At that time I was one of a few that talked about this life, and the only one that told you the gruesome, heartaches involved. The banner of my blog use to say "this is a beginner's tale of mistakes." The main reason I started this blog was my frustrations over perfect homesteaders and their not so truthful books. They would tell you how they did something, but didn't forewarn you of the mistakes that they made and how they got around them. It got frustrating, and lonely feeling when you made stupid little mistakes and had to stumble through to figure out how to fix it. They never tell you the true death toll of a homestead, they never tell you that you will hurt, and that building a homestead out of nothing take years of struggles and disappointments. All we ever hear is a fully edited world, or a fully established homestead that needs only maintenance and not how they ever got to that point.

Most of us are poor. Homesteaders in general are poor in finances. We have to be super creative in what we have and what we are able to do. At times we bite of more than we can comfortably chew. We can be told baby steps over and over, but if they don't give you an example, an anecdote from their own mis-adventures to serve as a warning, we get overly excited and jump with both feet.

But then you have those that start homesteading with a good deal of money backing them. These are hobbyists more than homesteaders. Homesteaders build from the ground up, while hobbyists can afford to pay out to have things finished before they even step onto the soil. They can afford to have other's do the work that they should be doing to be called a homesteader. And some of the complaining I am reading are toward a select few of hobbyists. I have no qualm with them. I am happy to see that some people are able to by-pass the horror that is building from nothing.

I don't read those perfect blogs. I don't feel a connection with them. Besides homesteading, what do I truly have in common with their edited perfection? We can use my blog for example. I have more comments when I have messed up or have had a bad day, then I do on my lovely days. And why is that? Somewhere you and I have built a connection. When I talk about the evil, you can relate because something similar has already happened or you feel that it could happen to you.

For me I feel that you have to be honest with the people around you. You can not edit life to make it sound like you have no problems. You can not live life to the fullest if you never take a risk, or step out for an adventure. Then you might just stumble, and when you do there is a lesson to be learned, something that makes you more human, something to help you grow and become better. Sometimes these stumbles are bad, vicious if you will. And you cry and you want it all to stop. You feel like you need to throw the towel in and forget it all. And yet there is something there that pulls you to over come it. You put the bodies in the freezer and return to the bloody scene. You know what you did wrong, and the next time you will not make the same mistake. There might be a different one, but you accept that. This is part of homesteading and never allow anyone to fool you into thinking that you are less then they are because of the mistakes.

How can we be competent people if we live only perfect lives? Where is the adventure if you always play things safe. How can you prosper if you never live to the fullest and accept the consequences that occur?

Some of you do read some of the blogs I read so might have a clue to what all this is in reference to. Several blogs have brought this up, and so have a few emails I have seen. Book publisher be warned, many are not happy about your choices. But we know that many will be suckered into reading about things that are perfect. They will be fooled into thinking that homesteading is easy and happy. That when you are a homesteader, you will never cry or bleed, sweat or freeze. You will never get lost on your way to a chicken coop in a snow storm, or dust storm. That you will never be up to your knees in flood water, while lightening and thunder blind and deafen you as you try to save your goats from the rushing water. That you own dogs will never snap and kill half your livestock. That a cow will never kick you, or stick a horn in your side. That butchering your own, means watching a paid professional do it. That weeds, rabbits, raccoons, deer and domestic cats will never be a problem for your garden. That your life isn't a 24 hour test of your convictions. That you will never hold an animal in your arms, covered in blood or saliva, and cry as it dies. No, none of that ever happens.

Homesteading is romantic.