Alright, so I actually spent very little time in muck boots this past week. Maybe I should call this post “Running Shoes and Daddy Daycare, Week 1,” but it just doesn’t have the same ring. A little over a week ago, I shared some of the hard emotions associated with leaving a good job and taking a risk on the unknown. So, it’s only fair I share a little of what the unknown feels like.
Monday - Start every race at a sprint
Monday was obviously a strange day. Monday mornings normally entailed waking up to check my calendar for the day, shower/shave, simultaneously get dressed and get the kids dressed, and then do everything I can to get out the door on time. This week, I woke up and went for a stroller run with one of the kids. After the run, I made breakfast, got the kids dressed, dropped one off at preschool, took the oldest to an eye doctor appointment, stopped off at the feed store to buy a few handfuls of chicks to add to the laying flock, dropped the oldest off at preschool, fed the littlest a bottle, took her with me to the hardware store, got home in time to feed myself lunch, put the little one down for a nap, set up the chicks’ brooder, got to work on some improvements for the beehive, bottle #2, finished beehive, walked up to get kids from preschool, home in time for bottle #3, and to cook dinner.
Every mom reading this post is likely shrugging at the simplicity of my day, but as a dad, I’ll humbly admit I gave a gentle pat on my own back for all I accomplished. Still, I know I’m more of a long distance runner…so I knew my sprint wouldn’t last too long.
Tuesday - Finding joy in the little things
Tuesday got off to a similar start to Monday, but by the time I got to mid-morning, things started to take a turn. The littlest was not as amiable to my plans (I’m sure Monday’s flurry of activity had nothing to do with it). She rebelled against naps, and mostly just wanted to be held…all day. This put quite a damper on my plans of getting a bunch of physical labor done outside, so I had to resort to plan B, which entailed activities I could do while wearing a baby in a carrier…laundry and dishes. It was in the midst of these activities that I came to realize I was not going back to work at the hospital. I started to play some of the mind games that come with a transition like this. Asking myself, “would I rather be doing dishes or checking emails at my desk?” What about, “folding laundry or managing a low performer?”
As I played the mind games, I started to realize the mind games themselves were the problem, and I needed to focus on finding joy in whatever it is I’m doing. And amazingly, I did. Sure, having a baby smile and laugh at you makes any activity more fun, but I did find some true joy in the simple fact that I had the opportunity to focus on nothing other than doing the dishes and laundry that were in front of me. Those of you who know me may not be too surprised to hear I found joy in doing the dishes, but Emily will tell you, me finding joy in doing the laundry is significant. I’m that guy in college who went to the bookstore to buy a new shirt because all of the others were dirty and I didn’t want to do the laundry…hey, we all have our weaknesses.
Wednesday - Stuck in the mud
Wednesday was picture day (x 2). Picture day is always a little bit of a challenge. The oldest is incredibly particular about his apparel. His preference is to never wear anything other than sweat pants/shorts and sports jerseys. Number two can be equally difficult, because she usually prefers (demands) to pick her own clothes. We love the independence, but her choice on color combinations are not always picture day appropriate. And, the littlest, well she’s a baby, so it’s only a 50/50 chance the clothes will make it through the first hour.
Amazingly, we made it out the door with three matching outfits and the kids were impressively cooperative with the photographer. But that was just the start. At the end of the day we had picture day at soccer practice, so we got to go through the motions a second time, hence the x2 ;-). We ended the day with a lot of energy expended, but I felt I didn’t get much checked off the to-do list. I knew these days would come, so I put my head down and focused on how tomorrow could be better.
Thursday - Getting out of the mud
Thursday started off a little rocky. I woke up to a dead chick. These things happen, but it’s still unfortunate every time. Even though we started off on a bad foot, I did my best to turn things around. I made it a point to get out on another run, and we made the kids a fun breakfast. Once the big kids were at school, I jumped into my task list, but this time I added a little structure to make sure I got the littlest one good naps. I didn’t achieve the sprint-like pace of Monday, but I plodded along and ended up getting quite a few things done, including cleaning the entire house before a few friends came over for a minimalism-themed dinner.
One of the values we’ve established over the past two years is minimalism. Don’t get us wrong, we still have plenty of “stuff,” but we’ve eliminated a lot and found freedom in the process. It’s amazing how much easier some of the day-to-day tasks of cleaning and home maintenance are when there simply isn’t so much stuff to work around.
Friday - Finding a rhythm
With the daily routine of a morning run, breakfast, walk to school and daily chores in place I realized I wasn’t thinking as much about missing my office job. My mom arrived in town, which the kids were thrilled about and meant I was able to get a little help finishing off some final projects before a storm moved in. Most importantly, we finalized some adjustments to the bee hive to have it ready for Saturday’s bee delivery!
Saturday - Wait, what happened to the weekend?
We appreciate the value of a Sabbath Day, but it should look a little different than our traditional weekend has looked. With us working full-time jobs, it often felt like the weekend was a mix of frantic effort to get essential projects done at the house, a desire to let the brain rest (i.e. veg out) after a stressful week, and still leave time for work on Sunday evenings to get ahead for Monday morning. Let’s be honest we haven’t been a model for honoring the Sabbath. Reforming our lives in this respect is one of the reasons we’re pursuing this change in lifestyle. Our aim isn’t perfection, but we know we can do better (coming from someone writing a blog post on a Sunday evening).
So yes, Saturday is a work day. We had a package of bees delivered first thing in the morning, and the weather could not have been crummier. Springtime in the Rockies is known for it’s variety, and we woke up to an inch of snow on the ground and a rain/snow mix throughout much of the day. I kept the bees in the shed throughout the storm, but both because of beginners nerves and the knowledge that the weather was going to be excellent in the morning, I decided to go ahead with my plan of transferring the bees in the early evening. Thankfully the sun broke out around 5pm, making it a little cool, but otherwise pleasant conditions for handling the bees. With help from the oldest kiddo and my buddy Francis, the transfer went off as smoothly as we could hope without a single sting. More to come on the bees in a future post!
Sunday - Enjoying the before and after
Sunday morning we joined several of my former co-workers for a 5K run. It was a reminder of how much I enjoyed my career and the people I worked with. Sharing with them stories from my week was also a reminder of how much I enjoy my new normal. Things weren’t always perfect in my job. I had to learn a lot of things “the hard way” by making mistakes. But, things aren’t much different in the farm life. I had a chick die and probably lost a lot of bees because of crappy weather. The resilience and grit I learned living through some of those mistakes is my most valuable takeaway, and these are qualities I’ll need as we endeavor into homeschooling and entrepreneurialism. We cannot fear failure through mistakes, but instead apply the experience of mistakes to make improvements and, most importantly, find joy in the process.
