When we bought this small ranch in Oklahoma 10 years ago, he said he was tired of traveling and would spend the rest of his life right here.
Now when you are 52 years old, the labor involved in maintaining 115 acres, barns, 2500 sq ft home, greenhouses, livestock, and crops is an adventure. Every day brought new challenges to be conquered. Building structures, improving the land, tending animals are very rewarding after 30 years of military life (not much "Mother Nature nurturing" there).
Well the wanderlust has struck him again and he is working part-time with the military again -- making 3 week-long trips all over globe. He loves the farm, but has admitted we must downsize to something that is more manageable for his schedule and our advancing ages.
So, my daunting task is cleaning out all the STUFF that is in the greenhouse, 2 barns, workshop, and the house. This must be done when he is working out of state, because he is a pack rat and he is convinced that every nut and bolt in the workshop has some vital importance to our future.
Following him all over the world never allowed for our closets to become overflowing or superfluous items to hide under beds. We were even able to keep our vehicles in our garages. Yearly moves to a new house, state or country meant yearly yard sales. I even took a course to become a certified organizer to make sure that I kept our possessions to an efficient and reasonable level.
Ten years of farm and home clutter is new for me and I have learned the abhorrent talent of "procrastination". I know WHAT I need to do, I know WHEN I need to do it, I know WHY I need to do it.
Where will I find the energy and will to begin? How hard can it be to downsize to cottage-size living from ranching?-----I think I need lots of prayers!
