There are moments throughout the week when I stop, laugh, and realize just how much our lives have changed since we started J & J Homestead.
Some of the things that now feel completely normal would have sounded absolutely ridiculous to me just a few years ago. Somehow, raising chickens, baking hundreds of cookies, hauling feed, tending bees, and spending weekends talking about tomatoes has become…well…life.
But while we’ve embraced this homesteading lifestyle with our whole hearts, there are also a few things that serve as gentle reminders that I was probably never destined to disappear into the mountains and live completely off the grid.
Apparently, I’m somewhere between “modern suburban professional” and “person who gets excited over chicken feed deliveries.”
Three Things That Make Me Feel Like a Real Homesteader
1. The Tractor Supply Employees Text Me When the Chicks Arrive
This may be one of my favorite accomplishments.
At some point over the last year, I apparently crossed an invisible line.
Now, when Tractor Supply gets a shipment of chicks, I don’t have to wonder if they’ve arrived.
I get a text.
Not just, “Hey, we have chicks.”
No…
I get updates that sound something like:
“Jennifer, we just got Buff Orpingtons, Easter Eggers, Black Australorps, and six White Leghorns if you’re interested.”
I absolutely love it. I don’t know what list I’m on, how I earned my spot, or if there’s some secret “Crazy Chicken Lady VIP Club,” but I am thrilled to be a member. There aren’t many people who get excited over a text announcing baby chickens…but here we are.
2. The Rooster Doesn’t Wake Me Up…
I Wake Him Up.
People always assume life on a homestead means being awakened every morning by a crowing rooster.
Not in our house. By the time the rooster starts announcing the sunrise, I’ve already been awake for hours.
Coffee? Made.
Blog post? Started.
Cookie ingredients? Measured.
Animals? Already checked.
Sometimes I honestly think the rooster hears me outside and thinks, “Oh…I guess it’s morning now.”
It’s a strange realization when you discover you’ve become the alarm clock for the rooster.
3. Feed Bags Are Apparently My Strength Training
People ask if I work out.
The answer is…
Kind of?
Some weeks my entire weightlifting routine consists of hauling 50-pound feed bags from the truck, carrying buckets of scratch grains, moving bags of shavings, lifting waterers, and somehow wrestling awkward bags into storage bins without spilling half of them across the garage floor (Jason isn’t a fan of that).
Who needs a gym membership when you own livestock?
Functional fitness is alive and well on the homestead. I can’t tell you what I bench press or really, if I can bench press. But I can tell you exactly how many bags of layer feed fit in the back of my SUV.
Three Things That Remind Me I Was Never Meant to Homestead Completely Off the Grid
Now let’s balance things out.
Because despite all of the above…There are still a few modern luxuries that I have absolutely no intention of giving up.
1. Amazon Next-Day Delivery Is One of Humanity’s Greatest Achievements
Could I probably survive without Amazon? Sure.
Do I want to? Absolutely not.
When I suddenly realize I’m out of canning lids, vacuum sealer bags, parchment paper, gardening gloves, or oregano oil…having it show up on my porch tomorrow feels like magic. Could I drive to three different stores looking for what I need?
Probably. Or…
I could click one button while eating breakfast.
Modern technology is pretty incredible.
2. I Love Getting My Nails Done
I know. I know.
It’s probably the least “rugged homesteader” sentence I could possibly write.
The funny thing is that they rarely stay perfect for long.
Within a day or two they’ve been introduced to garden soil, chicken bedding, bread dough, honey supers, and whatever mystery substance inevitably ends up on your hands during a busy weekend. Thank goodness for nitrile gloves.
But for those brief moments after leaving the salon? They’re beautiful.
It’s one small luxury that makes me smile, even if the chickens couldn’t possibly care less.
3. I DoorDash Thai Food More Often Than I’d Like to Admit
Yes…
I bake bread. I make cookies. I garden.
I preserve food. I raise chickens.
And yet…
Sometimes I finish feeding animals, watering the garden, collecting eggs, baking muffins, cleaning the kitchen, updating the website, and opening the farmstand only to decide that absolutely nobody is making dinner.
That’s when Thai food becomes the hero of the evening.
Could I cook? Of course.
Do I occasionally choose Pad Thai delivered directly to my front door instead?
Without a second thought.
Balance.
That’s what we’re calling it.
Homesteading Doesn’t Have to Look the Same for Everyone
One of the biggest misconceptions about homesteading is that it requires rejecting every modern convenience.
It doesn’t.
Our goal has never been to prove how hard we can make life.
Our goal is to build a life that’s meaningful.
For us, that means raising healthy animals, growing food, baking from scratch, learning new skills, and sharing what we learn through J & J Homestead.
It also means appreciating the conveniences that give us back a little time so we can spend more of it doing the things we truly enjoy.
I don’t think ordering Thai food makes me any less of a homesteader.
Neither does Amazon.
Or getting my nails done.
Homesteading isn’t about suffering for the sake of authenticity.
It’s about intentionally choosing the life you want to live.
And if that life includes hauling 50-pound feed bags in the morning and eating DoorDash Pad Thai that evening…
Well…
I’d say you’re doing just fine.
After all, the rooster still thinks I work too hard.
Leave a Reply