A bit of cabin fever...

Well, it has been almost a full week since I've even been outside. Ugh! I had surgery last Tuesday and haven't been all that mobile since. I'm kinda going crazy. Luckily the weather hasn't been nice so I haven't felt too bad about it, but I haven't even been to the grocery store or post office that are across the street.

In being in my house that long it is certainly making me look long and hard at the things around me. We have too much stuff. I know part of it is that we don't have a large house, but... We are plagued by the typical American ideals of consumerism even when we try to fight it. It is a little overwhelming to think about where I would start getting rid of things too. Because once I try to figure out where to start I start looking at where I need to end up. That gets scary.

I know part of our problem is I'm storing a lot of the family heirloom/history items in my house. My parents are trying to move (Dad's health) and my brother is not even close to settled. He'd better bring an empty horse trailer the second he gets sorta settled and empty out my attic.

In all of this I've become a bit nostalgic for the first year or two we were married. We had very little and we were ready to go at the drop of a hat. I kinda miss that, but at the same time I like having roots. I think I basically want to become a bit of a hermit in the mountains. I've always kinda wanted this. I love people. As one person at a time, as a whole I'm not too sure about them. As my dad always put it, "People, people. Ain't you glad you ain't a people?" I know, doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but that is kinda the whole point. Not much about being a subset of "people" does.

I think what it all boils down to is that I've been craving simplicity. Our lives can spin in all sorts of directions and before one knows it they are going in a whole new direction. I'm discovering I love my work, but not necessarily my job. Now, I have to explain a little. I love working on the actual airplanes, but I hate that my job is stressful, dangerous, and frustrating. I really despise that I have lost several dear friends and co-workers to this industry. Actually I've been loosing people to the aviation industry since I was 12. Makes ya wonder why I ever got into it. It gets in your blood. Plus it appeals to me in the sense that what I do is physical labor with a lot of mental labor too. I like doing something that challenges me as a whole.

Looks like I've digressed again... Back to simplicity. I do wish I could find a cabin on 10 acres or so, find a way to support my various interests I'd like to pursue, and yet be close enough to a small city where Tom can do all he wants as well. Hmmmm... A major problem with a homestead type place is that if you are truly self-sufficient then you can't ever leave without someone to watch over the place. That throws a wrench in the plan because we like to travel. These have been my dilemmas. Basic issues at hand: I love turning wrenches, I want to learn more trades, I don't want to work for someone else, but I don't want the headache of my own business, I want Tom to be able to do his thing, I want Bear to have a good education, and most of all I want us all happy. Oh, and I want to get rid of a bunch of our stuff! I just don't know what I'm willing to part with. And yes, this refers to any of the items on that list.


One last thing: I'm curious how many readers of this blog there actually are. I see from my little tracker where people are but that is all it tells me. A few of the locations I know are family, but some of the locations... Let's just say my curiosity is piqued.