| Organised Chaos to Organic Love |
| Written by Kylie Colvin | ||||
| Wednesday, 14 July 2010 15:19 | ||||
 Our family was faced with an increasingly modern dilemma: working too hard and not enough time for our four kids.So instead of just dreaming about the lifestyle we wanted, we decided to do something about it. I quit my high stress job as a television journalist and my husband quit his real estate job, which had him working weekends and all hours of the day and night. We were tired of rushing through our days, going through the motions, panic stricken about getting kids to school so we wouldn’t be late for work, rushing out of the office to pick them up from care or babysitters on time. Once we got home we would throw together an entirely unappetising dinner if we didn’t have take away, put the kids to bed, only slightly before ourselves, just so we had enough time to recharge and experience our own version of Groundhog Day all over again. Weekends weren’t much better, if we weren’t working, it was off to various sports or friends' houses, and then Sunday, the day of rest, was actually spent, washing, ironing, cleaning, and cooking, to get organised for the next week of chaos. That is life for most families that I know, but for us it wasn’t living. Our health was suffering, we were continually tired and cranky, we weren’t eating properly, we were constantly guilty about not having enough time with the kids and the cracks were forming in all of our relationships. It all came to a head last Christmas, while many of our friends were off on holiday’s or enjoying the beach and parks with their kids, and we were again juggling jobs and babysitters, we finally decided that enough was enough. We came to the realization we wanted to spend quality time with our kids, before they no longer think it is cool to hang out with their mum and dad, we wanted to slow down, enjoy our lives, not just get through everyday. The ultimate goal, to simply enjoy being a family. So we pulled our kids out of their nice private school, we left our four bedroom home on the water, and we headed west to the country.Not that far west, we are still only 30 minutes to the city, but we now have two and a half acres of paddocks, our family has increased to include two cows, four chooks, five chicks, two kittens and a sneaky fox that has a real taste for the chickens. We now work from home, the kids are in a smaller community school, and our family is thriving as a result. On our weekends we now build veggie patches and chook pens, the kids are constantly running around the yard and are rarely inside on their DS or computer or under my feet complaining about how bored they are.The therapeutic benefits and rewards to our family dynamic have been amazing. The yelling, bickering and constant battles for our limited attention have all but abated - often not always! It has been a shock to me, an out-and-out city girl, just what the effects a bit of back breaking team work can do to pull your family together. Moving to the farm was one thing, building a life together here is another.Daily responsibilities and chores have given our children a real sense of pride and achievement in themselves. Giving them leeway in decisions on where and how to build various homes, fences and shelters for our growing menagerie has seen them develop their problem-solving ability and, in turn, a maturity, that will serve them well in later life. These aren’t things we have set out to deliberately achieve, but have unfolded naturally as part of our life enhancing adventure. I can honestly say it has been one of the most surprisingly rewarding experiences I’ve had since looking into the eyes of each of my four children for the first time.The highlight though has been our vegetable patch, it is quickly becoming my fifth pride and joy! I’ve never been able to keep a pot plant alive let alone construct a veggie patch. We gave each of our children different responsibilities in building the veggie patch. The oldest was responsible for researching (very Google savvy for an eight-year-old), he determined where we should build it, what materials we needed, best soil, what plants were suitable and which ones should be placed in the same bed.The next two were responsible for collecting mulch, the all important ingredient responsible for bringing the seeds to life. It was a job they took on with great gusto and pride, despite the fact they were simply picking up cow manure!Our two-year-old was responsible for the watering can duties, a job that resulted in the water being tipped onto everyone and everything but the garden beds.We were all involved in the trip to buy the seeds, plant them and nurture the garden to life. Watching my little tribe down on their haunches digging dirt, planting seeds and staring intentedly into the ground each day as if the seedlings would suddenly sprout just by them willing them to has been magical in itself.Then, finally hearing their shouts of joy as the first signs of life peer through the soil and the green shoots start their journey towards, hopefully, our dinner plates, well I know we have done the right thing for our family.Surprisingly the seedlings appear in a short amount of time, just a few days, and just long enough for the kids not to lose interest in their project.Since seeing and hearing about our vegetable plot family friends have got their kids together for a growing challenge, each child has picked their own vegetable and is responsible for nurturing them, the most successful vegetable grower is rewarded for their efforts. It has turned out to be an organic experience in more ways than one. Not only are you growing your own veggies to eat, but the time spent together as a family is also such a simple, inexpensive, but rewarding pleasure, for very little effort. That’s not to say we haven’t sacrificed for the move. Our finances initially suffered considerably, but we have altered our lifestyle and we are now a lot better off. The older kids were initially devastated at leaving their friends, but have now made new ones, we also left behind an amazing network of family, friends and colleagues. However, they all love to come and visit now and we are discovering they are all envious of the lifestyle we have created, and don’t want to leave. I must also acknowledge we aren’t now this perfect eco unit all the time. We still have the usual daily gripes and battles with our kids. But what we have found is now we have the time and energy to deal with tantrums and issues as they arise, and at the end of the day there is no turning back the clock and wishing that you had invested more time with your kids. We try to make the most of every day we have with our kids. For the first time I feel like I am a good parent, I can now put my kids first, as they should be, they aren' t going to be around forever. But, with most kids now staying in the family home until their mid 20‘s, we will have hopefully have forged such strong bonds as family, friends and farmers, that it won’t be an issue. And if it is, there’s plenty of room to build another house!
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