When I let my mind wander and my imagination run wild, I often find myself in the same place.
Living with my husband and children on the farm my parents own in Michigan. We grow our own food. We have our own animals. We live our life in a beautiful, natural, serene setting, where the kids can come and go as they please, where we gather eggs from warm nests, where we work and play together, where our toes splash through cold streams, and our bodies float on innertubes on the pond. Where we have less to do with the neighboring city and more to do with the fields and the barn. Where the food on our table is food. Food that grew. From a plant, from an animal, from the concoctions of my hands, in my kitchen. Not from a box or a factory.
And then I come back to myself and remember that I live in the suburbs, shop at Kroger and Walmart, and that the only water my toes splash in, is in the shower and the neighborhood pool. That life I imagine for us is not possible, at least right now. But as far as lives go, ours is pretty darn great. I really could not ask for more, even though I often do. I'm working on it.
We may not be moving to the country anytime soon, but I have decided that no matter where I live, I can and should feed my family in the way that I would if my dream was reality. This past week I have really accepted that the ideas, feelings, and promptings that I have been having over the last 3 years keep coming back to me for a reason. I may have put it off for so long because of fear of the unknown, the fact that I don't know where to begin, the overwhwelming-ness of the idea, the suspicion that there may be significant push back from my little people, and that fact that this type of change will require large amounts of work. But despite all of that, I know this is what I need to do.
I may not know exactly how quite yet. But I know I need to feed my family in a different way. I need to more consciously choose what we put into our bodies. I need to provide food that is as close to it's natural state as possible. I'm not going to buy just anything because it says "organic". But I will buy things that are wholesome and good, and I will make the rest. At least that's what I'm shooting for.
I may be still be in my house in the burbs, but there is no time like the present to make changes. And I keep saying to myself:
Baby steps. Baby steps.
I don't have to do it all right now. I don't have to know everything right now. I just know that I need to move forward with this idea.
And that is what I plan to do.
NOOOOOOOO! I just wrote this huge comment, and stupid Blogger is just plain stupid and lost it. Too early in the morning for me to repeat myself. I'll come back later.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm really excited for your blog!
Have you watched this clip? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rixyrCNVVGA
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to research her findings some more (like the thing about corn being an insecticide), but she's pretty convincing, especially since she was just a regular mom, giving her kids "regular" snacks when she decided to educate herself further.
And have you tried Bountiful Baskets at all? I know there are Texas locations, and if there isn't one nearby, you can even start up a volunteer site of your own. They do have organic options--(which I haven't done simply because I'm greedy and I want the things that come in the conventional basket, and I'm poor)--but one thing I do love about it is the sense of community one gets from doing it.
I have to say, with mixed feelings, I'm all the more a fan of Walmart just because I found that I can buy whole organic chickens from Walmart for a fraction of the price of whole organic chickens from the fancypants Harmon's down the street. I go over our grocery budget every month, so I've never considered buying anything organic and free-range (other than eggs, and I'm starting to buy organic milk) simply due to expense. I'd rather spend the money on produce (Bountiful Baskets definitely helps bring the cost down, but I'm still bad at managing within my little budget). And Nate likes to pooh pooh my organic purchases, since we're poor folk. (And because it's still too "hippie," ha!)
I've been looking into CSA shares, and purchasing pork and beef products from local family farms. Sadly, this also isn't in the budget for now, but I hope to be able to do this some day when I no longer have to choose toilet paper over grass-fed beef. And when I have freezer space. Again, I love the sense of community with purchasing directly from the farmer.
Anyway, long comment aside, I'm excited to see what you blog about, and what recipes you try.
I'll try this comment one more time! I did see that video when you posted it on your facebook and I thought it was very interesting. Definitely a lot of claims worth looking into.
ReplyDeleteI am signed up for Bountiful Baskets (thank you!) but I am slightly confused. I guess I have to sign up on Monday to pick up for Saturday? I'll figure it out. I'm looking forward to it. And thanks for the heads up about the Walmart chicken! I am going to have to check there price. I have another place I ccan get good chicken from that's not a bad deal. Still no idea about the beef though. I lent my extra fridge to my parents to use for the missionaries at their house, and now I am really wishing I hadn't. Since the beef places are not close it would be so much handier and reasonable to buy a big bunch and freeze it. Oh well. We'll see what else I can find. Also, I am so happy you are similarly interested so I can talk to you about it. Dan could not be more supportive of this whole thing, but I think after a while of my blabbering, he starts to here the Charlie Brown teacher, "Wa wa wa wa wa"
Yes, yes! You order on Monday, and then pick up on Saturday. You'll want to read the FAQ on their website--like take a box or a bags to bring produce home in, and make sure you're not late.
ReplyDeleteI'm also happy to know that you're into this. Nate tries to be supportive, but I think he's just perplexed by the fact that I get excited about this stuff.