New Wife, New Life

Long story short, Tyler and I were married in December, in the presence of our parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, and my grandmother. Less than a week later, we found ourselves sitting in the conference room of a bank signing papers that would legally grant us ownership of the 42 acre property we had looked at months before.

We were excited. We were nervous. What could be expected? What ideas would be tried and tested on the farm? Would there be success? And the biggest question of all, how would we be able to handle two full time jobs and take care of such a property? The questions swirled around us, and at the time, not having all the answers was fine by us.

Tyler and I spent the first few weeks walking giddily around the property, still in disbelief of our new lifestyle. I often found myself staring out the window at the beauty and serenity that was before my eyes. Together, we spent time walking around the fields and getting to know the boundary lines. We talked to the horses (we continued the horse boarding operation from the previous owner), brushing their hair and sneaking them treats. We envisioned where we might put chickens (every farm needs chickens!) and what sorts of things were needed to make that a reality. And, the most time consuming thing of all, we started the renovation project.

Ah, the renovation project. There goes a saying that “you can’t have the cake and eat it too,” and I suppose sometimes, that saying is true. In our case, the farm was the cake and the house was the part that we couldn’t eat, (not that we would have wanted to anyway). In other words - the house, though lovely and charming on the outside, had not been renovated since quite possibly the 1950s. Orange and green carpets, pink tiled bathrooms, and blue floral wallpaper were not the looks we were going for. It all had to go. Instead of a honeymoon, Tyler and I opted to take a week off from work, rent the largest dumpster we could, and start the renovation process.

In less than one week, we managed to fill up a 40 yard dumpster with old carpets, bags of wallpaper, and whatever left behind items we found laying around the house. We definitely had our work cut out for us, and this was only the tip of the tip of the iceberg. With our day jobs calling for us, Tyler and I soon faced the reality that finding the right balance between our professional lives and our farm lives was paramount. But how were we to manage a successful (and eventually profitable) farm when we were already being pulled into so many different directions? Were we willing to make the necessary sacrifices and put in the hard work that would be required to see our dream turn into a reality? We were certain the answer was yes.

Jocelyn