I am not a homesteader....not even a little bit, at least I don't think I am?
I often stumble across pinterest accounts or Instagram accounts with "homesteaders". They've got their canned goods, gardens & all the things - and I never compare myself but I always think holy Hannah that's pretty cool.
Somehow -- I'm kinda "there".
But if we were to rewind the tape 5 years to my life - I was wearing $1000 gowns & buying $2000 shoes to walk on stage to speak, and obsessive compulsive about exercise.
I talked to the Trailblazer Co (check them out) owners last week about this "transformation" and all I had to say was I wasn't unhappy then I just didn't really see another way. I had my eye on a prize - quarterly vacations to Hawaii, a white picket fence and a few hundred thousand in the bank - because that was "success".
My vision board looked exactly like that - a big house, a big ring, a big family, a big wine cellar full of wine, a big bank account, a big closet full of shoes -- I just had this idea of what I really wanted my life to look like.
Where did the shift...(s) happen from THIS to...now?
I didn't grow up near a garden, I didn't have a garden that I ate fresh fruit from...nor did I ever even want one until ...recently.
Actually (sorry mom) we didn't really eat a lot of fresh food. My mom was super young when she had me and fed me (obviously) but food wasn't really a big deal in our house. We were a steak and potato, order Chinese food on Friday nights kinda of family. I was fine with that - until all of a sudden I was told that I should "look different" by my partner. Ps. I weighed 120 pounds and looked amazing.
I started to see food as this really BIG deal.
I'm lying a little bit, and I promised to be honest and authentic in 2022. I didn't see food as a big deal, I saw my WEIGHT as a big deal. I became obsessed with calories in and calories out. If you put a plate in front of me I knew how to calculate what amount of exercise it would take me to make sure none of it became "extra weight". I started to see the plate of food in front of me as an exhausting. It was so exhausting to think of food alllllll the time.
I knew every calorie...that I was putting into my mouth. And then -- I knew how to burn every single calorie....I started to obsess over exercise. So much so - I became certified to teach fitness, then opened up a fitness studio....got certified as a health coach and created courses and products around both of those things.
That was the start of my entrepreneur journey - SO I'm super thankful for it.
But it was EXHAUSTING constantly thinking about food, nutrition...for some wild reason it took away the JOY of food. It was a chore. But that CHORE -- led me to a really cool place, chores do that to us -- they teach us things. At least that's what I tell the kids.
I started teaching others how to create online courses, then started to recognize that I was a genius in the digital marketing space (#confidence), and then sold some courses, sold some platforms and things just....grew on the internet. We launched a magazine - reached 1 million readers, it was wonderful!
So...here I am owner of Megan Moore Marketing Agency and in LOVE with it. It's not exhausting, it's not consuming -- its love. I love helping business owners get online - because that means they can experience some of the freedom they are craving.
And then -- the TINY...oh the tiny, keep reading because it was all about FREEDOM for me.
Five years ago, I may have become a Homesteaders minus the home.
When I saw the property in Golden, British Columbia I just KNEW my life was going to change.
You know when you step into a place -- and things feel different? That's what I felt.
I wanted to get my hands dirty ---- and away from the computer, phone, iPads and the hustle of being in marketing. Being in the digital space - means you're working 24/7 on a computer...phone...etc. So a garden: holy Hannah answer to my fingers prayers lol.
I also realized -- this was my freedom.
My getaway, my answer to leaving a marriage of 12 years that was ruining who I was. The answer to ...I guess to be super cheesy my prayers.
The land became a place that always felt like home to me.....and now we get to be here full time, and it feels free.
I came back every weekend even when there wasn't a place to sleep, I brought the kids and walked through the little town by the river. I learnt how to start a fire by myself, I cut the grass by myself...I started to feel like there was more to ME than ...there was.
I moved here when things were really bad in both the world (Covid-19) and my marriage. I discovered internet dating accounts, drugs, and some other things that I don't want the kids to read about.
In 2019 I lived in a trailer (RV) for weeks without water, without anything with the kids because I couldn't be at home anymore....and then I got the tiny house.
I didn't really tell anyone how bad it was -- I was embarrassed, I was supporting women and showing them how to be powerful CEO's and I was sleeping in my car some nights.
But then....I bought the tiny house.
OUR tiny house. And i'm so fucking proud.
I'm a homesteader now.
I'm going to grow my own food, I get my own water, and I'm soul happy.
You'll know when you get there. Because it feels like BLISS. It IS bliss.
I want my kids to read this one day & know you are allowed to change your path. Actually often, a lot and more than once please - it will happen because God will keep showing you to make little changes, and eventually put you into an A-HA moment.
Thank you. Thank you mostly to myself.
