As I wind down my military career, coming into my 19th year, post retirement comes into focus. A few years back I started seriously pondering what I would do after I retired. Many in the military go and work directly for the government, but that wasn't what I wanted. To be perfectly honest all I knew was what I didn't want. I had no idea what I would do, what I liked, or what interested me. The military, deployments, order, discipline and structure had been my life right out of high school. So I prayed. I prayed and I waited, and I prayed some more. Months passed ... but you know something? As they were passing different people with the same theme were coming into my life. A new friend provided a book "homegrown and handmade" by Deborah Niemann. My sister, who wouldn't touch a farm animal, let alone process one, was on this off grid kick and introduced me to "Alaska the Last Frontier". I introduced myself to a new neighbor in the dead of winter; knowing that if I didn't it would be months before she saw another living soul. This neighbor introduced me to homesteading websites like "the Prairie Homestead" which opened the flood gates. These were a bunch of little pieces of kindling and fat pine that sparked a flame inside of me.
As I sat on the floor in my office reading an article, I felt like the Lord said "that's what I want you to do when you retire. Homestead." Well what on the earth was that going to look like? More to follow on the journey, the search for land, and the convincing of the Mister that this (homesteading) was a great idea.
Fast forward 5 years. We found 30 acres of property, a cute little farm house and lots of space for dreams and possibilities. We've established our home for almost 10 months now. Our neighbors to the west sued us after we got a survey of our land and wanted to put a fence on the acre of land they had decided to occupy for the last year while the property was vacant. I was called a n****r for the first time in my life by our neighbor across the street from us while returning his dog who had wandered into our yard. Wouldn't it be great if Trulia or Zillow told you what kind hearts your neighbors had? Despite all of that, we had a home. Our home. Our land.
I prayed earnestly for our neighbors. I wrote them letters to let them know a little about us. Both of us being military Veterans who had been on and experienced multiple deployments. Lovers of the Lord. Forgiving of their words and actions. Hard workers and in it for the long haul. I gained a friend and pen pal from the wife of our neighbor across the street. She's not allowed to talk to me or visit, but at 80 she sneaks in a text now and then and writes when she has a little time to herself. Since court and attorney fees used up our privacy fence money, we put up a 6ft barbed wire fence. Shifty behavior, and potential vandalism on their part prompts us to keep them at a distance, but I pray for them daily.

And we dream. This year we'll get chickens. The Mister will build the hen house. We build raised beds for some of our gardening. I like the idea of cement blocks. We plant veggies and flowers and I'll share that with you. In a couple of months we'll get fruit and nut trees and one day we'll get a milk cow and a couple of pigs. I'll review a few homesteading books and take you along the journey of retirement from full time military to full time homesteader. This will be exciting.