The Good Life

The good life I dream of is not living in the city and driving a Lexus (though I wouldn't mind the car). It's not living in suburbia and having 2.3 kids and driving a white minivan with a "my kid is an honor student..." sticker on it. I don't dream of keeping up with the Joneses or living within walking distance of the mall. I don't care if the shopping is good and I don't care if there are only three hole-in-the-wall restaurants in town. Nothing wrong if those are your dreams, they just aren't mine.

I dream instead, of living on a huge plot of land off of some dirt road located somewhere in the south (but not in FL).

I can picture our house -- an old farmhouse with a big front porch littered with rocking chairs; perfect for sippin' sweet tea or lemonade in the summertime.

The front door has an old wooden screen door that squeaks when it's opened and that bounces a few times when it's slammed shut by the kids running in and out. Of course, there are lots of kids around. I dunno how many -- just lots.

The driveway is just a dirt path leading up to a building out back where we can stor our vehicles. (as if Ed would EVER go for a dirt driveway.) Our nearest neighbor is a fifteen minute walk away and we don't have to worry about the dog being on a leash or anything like that.

The inside of the house has refinished hardwood floors and enough bedroom sto house everyone. We have decent furniture, but nothing fancy and there is NO TV in the house.

Out back, aside from the building for the vehicles, there are stables that house one horse for each member of the family. There's a hen house from which we gather eggs regularly and a barn for the livestock that provides our food.

There's also a garden where we grow any sort of vegetable that the climate will allow and an orchard where we have apple and pear trees.

My girls and I spend our days in the kitchen making jelly (ha ha), breads, dinner, canning various veggies, etc... Of course, they get plenty of time for schoolwork and for free time.

My boys tend to the yard -- bailing hay, feeding the livestock, etc...

We eat homemade dinner everynight and don't have to depend on anyone else (aside from the One who makes the rain to fall and the plants to grow) in order to survive.

As expensive as everything is nowdays, I dunno if that will evre happen, but I can dream of the good life, right.