Stokes finally figure out how to contribute to the blog

After fighting my case of computer illiteracy, I am finally able to add to the blog. When Juli-Ann first approached me with the idea of going to farm school, there were so many obstacles that would derail the plan, that it was easy to entertain the possibility. As the obstacles started to dissolve, it became apparent to me that this adventure was a definite possibility. Mudge and Molly sold, Juli-Ann got accepted to the school(first student with children accepted), she visited the kids prospective schools and loved them, etc..... Talk was now becoming action, all the stars were aligning! As any of you who are close to Juli-Ann know, her passion is contagious. As reality started to sink-in excitment became fear, but I have learned lately to recognize fear, and do what you are afraid of anyway. Juli-Ann and I want to instill in Mac and Annie that it okay to be scared about something and still pursue it. Some of the greatest accomplishments come when you learn to conquer the fear to try new things in the first place. If nothing else comes out of this experience, it is my hope that it teaches all of us to seek our dreams and TAKE action to bring them to fruition.

I am so excited about Juli-Ann and the kids adventure in Massachucetts, but I am equally excited about my adventure right here in Alabama.

Mac's scoop on the trip to Mass.

My first reaction to this idea was WHAT!!! WE'RE MOVING TO WHERE!!! So as you can see I was as suprised as you are. When I thought about it I said to myself "Hey I'll be like Marius and Christiaan Heersink except I'll be moving to Massachusetts instead of Holland. Now we have got an awsome house with a 40 acre yard to play in and for an extra bonus it has woods behind it that I can use WOOH! The bad thing is that we have to leave our friends and dad here in Dothan. Only for a year though. My dad also will be coming to visit frequently so that is good. And thats my scoop on the trip to Massachusetts.

What I think about next year.

I think it is going to be a fun adventure. I am sad that my dad is staying here and that I am going to be away from all of my friends for a year. I really like our house up there. I think it is going to be so fun. I am going to meet new friends and people. I want to see what it is like.

52 Creamery Hill Road

Luck is on our side. Our friend Bill Lamb (a current Farm School student) found this house for us to rent. It's only a mile from Maggie's farm where Mac & I will be in school and about 15 minutes from Annie's school. We must have been living right- can you imagine a more picturesque New England setting? The house sits on 40 acres which will be great fun for Mac & Annie to explore. We couldn't be more excited.

The prize does come with some questions about what we're able & willing to live without- namely: air conditioning and a dishwasher. It will be interesting to see how we manage...stay tuned. The owner is willing to let Pierre & Lulu come with us. Anyone willing to make the 2 day drive up with them?

Mac, Annie & I are headed up May 31 to stay in the house for a few nights, get our bearings in the area and decide what furniture we need to pack up & bring with us on the next trip in June. Let the adventure begin....at 52 Creamery Hill Road, North Orange, Mass.

So you want to be a pharmacist.....

Welcome to the first entry in my new blog....our year on the farm. It is my intention to keep everyone updated about our adventures on the farm by posting pictures, notes and anecdotes through the year. For my first blogging session I've decided to give you all a little history on how all this came to be and some of the reactions I've encountered since announcing my decision to leave for farm school.

I was accepted at the Practical Farm Training Program at The Farm School in Athol, MA in December of 2007....Here are snips of some of the conversations I've been having since then:

"So you want to be a pharmacist....." No, actually it's Farm school, not pharm school...
"Girl, I've got some land & a tractor & I can show you how to work 'em & save ya' the trouble of movin'..." Well, there's a little more to it than just learning to drive a tractor...
"Did you say Charm School?" Nope...you heard me right...I said Farm
"Green acres is the place for me...." From henceforth any person that sings this theme song to me will have to pay me $1 which will go into the tuition fund....
"You're moving WHERE? To do WHAT?" "Does Stokes know about this?" "Is this a cult?" "Are you having a nervous breakdown?" "Is it just a mid-life crisis?" "You gonna' get ya' some overalls?" "You gonna' learn how to milk a cow?" "Do they offer pedicures at Farm School?"
"So....how did all of this come about?".....

I thought you'd never ask.......

How it all came about:

First of all, let me say....I know. I know. This is "nutsy crazy" as Mac & Annie would say.

If I weren't me I'd be talking about myself too!

"She's lost her mind." "Massachusetts is really cold- what is she thinking?" "Did you see her the other day- she had on designer blue jeans and high-heeled shoes- doesn't dress like any farmer I've ever seen before." "She's just taking this organic vegetable idea tooooo far."

Believe me....it's all run through my head too.

When, with blind faith, I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition approximately 2 years ago, I knew my life would change. I just had no idea how much! In January of 2007, during an exercise in class we were instructed to turn to our neighbor and tell them where we saw ourselves in the next 5 years. I heard a voice say, "Well....I think maybe I want to be a farmer...." Awww, I thought to myself....isn't that nice....how adventurously quaint....wait a

minute! Did I just say that? Hold the phone! Who made me say that? Whomever is driving this bus needs to pull over because that is just nuts. I kinda' feel like when God said to Noah, "Man you better build an ark or else....", he probably felt the same way.

If you had told me at that point that I would actually go forward with becoming a farmer I would have asked you what you were smoking. Farm school found me. I didn't even search for it. The farm school website came up on random google searches several times over the next couple of months-fueling my internal conversation about all the reasons that was just complete silliness. On the way to the beach last June, I was catching up on some back issues of magazines and opened up an old Body & Soul to an article about a woman who left her corporate job to attend The Farm School. "Okay, okay, okay!!!! I surrender." Two weeks later I made a deal to sell Mudge & Molly....the wheels were in motion. It's unbelievable in reflecting on all of the things that had to be "resolved'' -and were- for this to happen. My good friend Louise said to me one day, "When you get on the right path everything just falls into place." Despite my best efforts to rationalize, resist, argue and decline....I was on the right path and it was time to build the ark (aka- head north!)

My intentions for next year:

• Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. My life has been far too busy, complicated, cluttered & stressful...I am recovering from adrenal fatigue syndrome because of it. I'm burned out from running on the never-ending treadmill of consumerism....game over. I want to learn to live with less and value what I have more. Not that this will be easy....gosh darnit- if Zappos just didn't have so many styles to choose from and free overnight shipping!
• Live slow. Eat slow. Drive slow. Think slow. Be slow. Pretty much the antithesis of my life for the last 15 years.
• Find more joy in my daily life....sure joy always comes in big moments: birthdays, holidays, celebrations & big events. I've always heard the expression, "There's more to life than this." Well, I'm beginning to disagree with that statement...I think maybe there's "LESS to life than this" and it's all the busy-ness, routine, structure & schedules that take away your daily joy.
• Savor my last year as a Mom without a teenager! We won't have cable tv next year so we plan on playing games, reading and traveling, having conversations (what a novel idea!), and just enjoying the beautiful part of the country we'll be living in.
• Eat great food. As much as possible we will continue our commitment to eat local, fresh, seasonal & organic. We are also excited about all the ethnic food choices we'll have to choose from in Boston!

Our Plan:

Mac, Annie & I are headed to Boston on May 31 for a few days to find a place to live. Stokes is working on a big job right now and is saving his "days off" to visit later in the summer so he won't go with us on this trip. Mac & Annie are excited about being part of the house hunt and we hope to find something we'll be excited to call home for a year. We plan on moving at some point in July- it all depends on when our lease begins. Their school begins after Labor Day and mine doesn't start until October 1. That will give us a few weeks to travel and sight see and get acclamated to the area.

Our doors are open next year for any and all who want to come visit. I can't promise luxurious accomodations but the area where we'll be living is beautiful and full of quaint New England villages and rolling farm land. I'm excited to experience a real fall season!

After farm school?

Well, the honest answer is, "I have no idea." This is as much a spiritual journey for me as it is about animals and vegetables. My life to this point has been pretty safe and predictable. I'm learning to become comfortable in the unknown space....to stretch myself to go beyond the safety of what's known and seek answers in the quiet & still places of my mind. I believe it's there the answer will be revealed....stay tuned.

Thanks to any who have read this far! We appreciate everyone's support & prayers next year as we embark on this amazing journey. For anyone still worried that this might be "a mid-life crisis" let me assure you- this is a mid-life awakening...there's no crisis happening. Stokes & I want Mac & Annie to know that the world is a big place and that it's ok to feel fearful of doing something and do it anyway. We are confident that this a good choice for all of us and look forward to sharing our experiences with you!