Dear Friend,
Have you ever been at a certain point in your life and thought, “‘Such and such’ about me will NEVER change!”?
What a definite thought. Such a limiting little box we can put ourselves into … Then, have you changed the ‘such and such’ and surprised yourself with a plot twist?
Three years ago, that was me and gardening. I was elbows-deep in tomatoes from our 200 tomato plants—the year we LITERALLY grew A WHOLE TON—2,000 pounds of tomatoes. I was building raised-bed gardens, playing with my goose, watching my new repurposed greenhouse going up and gawking in awe and wonder at the growth my baby fruit trees had made since I planted them a couple years prior. Homesteading was so fulfilling that I thought, “I would never purposefully not have a garden.” I started this column then—writing about all things homesteading because it was a day-in, day-out part of my life, the content of which was ever flowing from my mind.
Since those days, I have started a business and moved to a whole new, fresh piece of land. I’ll get to start my new homestead intentionally someday but before I do, I want to watch how the land behaves (water run-off, sun mapping, best views …) for at least a year, maybe more, before I make any permanent changes.
However, before I knew it, there I was—ME—purposefully not having a garden! We’ve pressed ‘pause’ on it in order to push ‘play’ in our business goals. SEASONS! Of course! As a homesteader, I might have known that life comes in seasons, yet here I was entering into another one without even realizing it!
I cannot even begin to describe the melting pot of emotions that these last few years have been! I thought I knew who I was, but then when life changed, I discovered something strange. I was still me, at the core, but now I was seeing me from a different angle. The things I cared about hadn’t changed—local, nutrient-dense, clean food access, farmers, land stewardship, prudent animal husbandry—but the way they showed up in my life had.
Because of this new season, the daily herd of thoughts traveling through my mind has greatly changed since I first started writing for the Ponca City Monthly. Writing my homesteading content wasn’t coming as naturally and freely as it once had. So, after discussing with PCM staff, I decided to keep writing, but the content will shift slightly, as I have. (Don’t worry, my style is still the same—encouraging and challenging you to think outside the box!)
For a while, I thought I was stepping away from homesteading and have struggled with some guilt over it—because I love it so much—but I’m realizing I am just moving into a different rendition of it, and I love that, too!
Maybe that’s the beautiful and uncomfortable thing about life … the things we swear will never change sometimes are the very things that teach us who we are becoming and where we are going. Three years ago, my roots were planted firmly in my backyard garden. Today, I’m over here learning that my roots can spread further than I ever imagined—to my business, my community and my purpose. Maybe I didn’t abandon my homestead. Maybe I reimagined its potential …
Learning in the seasons,
Liz Threlkeld
