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Wisdom, You Don't Get It Overnight

It's not time to quit the day job just yet, oh and I'm thankful for it.

Over the past 12 years, Julie and I have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience attempting to build our farm and our dream; both positive and negative.  We now know what it takes to successfully grow tomatoes, but we also know just how hard it can be to pay a medical bill on the income from selling them.  I know a lot more about producing a quality soil and how to grow good pasture, but can't afford sufficient pasture because it has a "mountain view".

Twelve years ago, I was under the impression I would just waltz into East TN, buy up some cheap farmland, work hard and bam; quit my day job in a couple of years and enjoy the simple life forever more.  What I learned is just how complicated and difficult enjoying the simple life can be.  It has been very discouraging at times, and when we left Greeneville two and half years ago, I stood in my front yard and cried as we loaded up the last of our stuff and moved.  At that time, it seemed that we had just given up on our dreams that we had poured so much into over the previous 10 years.

For the last couple of years, I've been in a holding pattern and sort of a recovery time.  I've had time to really reflect on those experiences.  I know a lot more know than I did 12 years ago, (not just how to grow tomatoes) and I'm ready to start over again.  Making dreams a reality is hard and in this age of instant gratificication, it can be very difficult to stay the course.  It has taken me a while to realize it, but I know that we didn't waste our time, we were just gaining the wisdom necessary to make those dreams reality.

Stay tuned.

Michael