Goodbye to Weston Farm

It's official.  On October 8^th, 2015 we sold our beloved property to another nice couple who is excited and thrilled to have it, and we will be leaving Weston Farm in the near future.

I say “beloved” because of all the reasons we truly love and will miss this home and property.  However, we are just as excited to move into our new home which we signed papers for today!   We are downsizing from six acres to one and upgrading to a newer home with (hopefully) less maintenance and unforeseen costs.

So much happened after we moved here; my career took a turn and became much more consuming than I ever would have anticipated.  (Kevin’s was already there.) The kids’ interests shifted and expanded.  Health issues for both of us, multiple surgeries (5), snakebites (okay, only one, but you get the point!) all came into play at the same time. 

All those things coupled with, my idealistic vision of farming being hit with a dose of reality.  Planting and growing things isn’t as simple as sticking seeds in the ground and watering, then harvesting.   I could go on, but the bottom line is, I think we bit off more than we could chew without something else in life giving, and I’m not willing to give up most of those other things until my kids are grown.  

I’ll miss the charm of this old farmhouse, but not the maintenance and utility bills.

I’ll miss the privacy, but not the isolation.

I’ll miss the long stretch of country road leading home, but not the long, bumpy drive.

I’ll miss watching the spring storms roll in across the pasture.

I’ll miss the unobstructed sunsets and sunrises.

Most of all, I’ll miss the trees.  These huge, ancient trees that have been here longer than my existence…  There is something magical about their spring awakening, after a long winter’s slumber, and something darkly mysterious as they creak and groan, stark and naked in the midst of winter.

The new home is convenient to everything.  Schools, Church, grocery store and just minutes from the main thoroughfare. 

I’ll enjoy being closer to the schools and kid’s activities.  Our commute to work is fairly substantial and the added running back and forth to town for every other little things, like grocery shopping, prescription pickup, practices, school events, church… it adds up.   The eight miles into town takes us 20 minutes (one way) so doing things mid-week is an event

I’ll enjoy allowing the kids the opportunity to grow up with neighborhood friends and in the community.

I’ll enjoy having a more open, sociable floor plan, where the kitchen is open to the family room so the cook (yours truly) isn’t isolated in the kitchen while everyone else is off doing their own thing.

I’ll enjoy having the boys in separate bedrooms.  (2^nd and 8^th grade are light years apart.)

I’ll enjoy having a completely fenced backyard where Jasper will live and play and his fur might have a chance of staying the nice biscuit white it’s meant to be.  (His current play place of choice is the neighboring pond, where he joins the cows and brings himself home filthy.)

I’ll enjoy not having as much dirt to track into the house and while I’ll miss all the shade gardens, it will be nice to have the option to landscape with sun-loving plants.

And… I’m looking forward to having time to mountain bike again and settling into a somewhat more streamlined life.

Update: November 22nd.  Tomorrow will be a month since we closed.  The day we signed the papers, I felt this massive burden lift off my shoulders and an overwhelming sense of peace come over me.  We've mostly unpacked in our new home and are fixin' to enjoy our first Thanksgiving here. I couldn't be more thankful. <3