We are approaching the two year mark since we quit our jobs, sold everything and invited our family to join us as we settled onto a ranch here in Southern California.
I was certain I would be writing-documenting-the last two years, but as it happens, I’ve been so exhausted. I haven’t even wanted to think about it, and as you will find in the coming posts, there’s been so much to process I haven’t even sure where to begin.
What’s that saying? Be careful what you wish for? That’s not what this is about. Or maybe it is because life is about trade-offs isn’t it?
Overwhelmingly, this is been an amazing experience hands-down no regrets. We gave up noise and traffic and congestion and dissatisfaction of living in a beautiful area, but never being able to actually enjoy it because of the 9 to 5 grind and answering to jobs that while very satisfying, had become incredibly disheartening during Covid. Now we answer to ourselves, and the Creator. But as any self-employed person will tell you this means you work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We do have more family time and we get to enjoy it on our ranch with spectacular views and horses that we’ve rescued that we love, and dogs that we rescued that we adore. There are more moments for introspection, and that’s really good.
The dream of having my mom with us for a long time broke down almost immediately after moving here with her dementia diagnosis. She’s been incredibly happy for the most part, (punctuated, by really not happy in a lot of falls) but managing her sense of loss of freedom, and my sense of panic over managing her state of mind, and general confusion has been devastating.
So now, at the two-year point, I would say we’re settling in. We have kind of a routine going-Wednesdays mom and I drive her to her club and I take a ceramics class in the next town over. Thursdays to help a local company with marketing. Mondays and Tuesdays are for running around Saturdays are spent trying to finish up whatever we didn’t finish during the week prior. Sundays, we occasionally go to church, but we’re not overly dogmatic about it and find that staying in bed with coffee and talking and having an actual Sabbath has become the new normal. Occasional dinners with family here on the ranch are lovely.
I remember when we first moved here and I would stare at our views and think “I hope I never ever take this view for granted” and two years later, I still don’t, so that’s good.
Anyways, I’m sure life will become excessively exciting again soon when we add chickens, which I’m eager to share about.
They seem to be very interesting characters.