Choices

Am I the only nut that finds reading the comments on news articles quite fascinating?  Typically, I only read the first few comments, but if they are especially entertaining or insightful I might read more.  Of course, I had to check to see if there were any comments on our story on WFAA.  Maybe I have a twisted sense of humor, but I found the following comment hilarious:

morepopups said on June 22, 2010 at 2:37 PM

carrieg just grow some weed and smoke it. that will calm you down!

Carrieg was the first to comment in response to our story:

carrieg said on June 22, 2010 at 10:02 AM

Whose got the time or the money to tend to a full garden and raise chickens? I'd love to be able to do that. By the time I get off work at 5:00, go to the gym til 6:00, get home prepare dinner by 7:00 or 7:30, clean up by 8:30... I have about 1 1/2 hrs to relax and unwind before bed. If I spent that time in the garden, I'd be charged up till midnight every night and suffering other health issues from not getting enough sleep... A vicious cycle, indeed.

Now, in no way do I condone the idea of growing weed, or smoking it for that matter.  But I certainly never expected to read such a comment in relation to our backyard revolution!  My immediate thought after reading Carrieg's comment was to wonder if she realized that scheduling gardening beginning at 8:30 PM would leave her gardening in the dark?

We all make choices with how we spend our time.  Back in the med. school days, we learned to put a great price on family time.  We also made the choice that once we had kids, Lord willing, I would stay home with them.  When the Chicken Whisperer was born at the beginning of Matt's third year of med school, we faced taking out a much larger loan than we had planned.  Choices.  We are still paying on that debt today, but I wouldn't do it any other way if I had it to do over.  I am certainly not trying to imply that Carrieg should not work or that being a stay at home mom is the right choice for everyone.  It was the choice we made, and while it has not been without financial consequences, it has been a huge blessing.

Another choice we have made is to free our home from the bondage of television.  I am sure this will be a theme we will discuss on this blog from time to time because of what a positive change it has been for our family.  Just like our food revolution, we did it with baby steps, first by cutting cable, and then kicking out the tv set altogether!  We still have access to nearly anything we might want to watch online, but our choices are then very intentional.  We still have DVDs that can be watched on the computers, though Matt and I find that we are not nearly as entertained by movies now as we might have once been.  Choices.  May not be right for all, but have you considered lately how much time the television robs from your life?  I am certain my photography hobby and gardening would never have happened if they were competing for my time with the television.

I can assure you that the only pot you will find around here is of the terra cotta variety.  But this little exchange in the WFAA comments got me thinking about how we all make choices every single day.  Our garden may not be the right choice at some point in the future, but for today it has been a wonderful opportunity for our family to learn, grow, play and eat together.

Comments

[Carolyn]

Stephanie,

Surely you realize that choice IS the issue, not HOW you make your choices or what your choices are. We hear that all the time in the media about how we should have choices but the reality is, the media/gov't only want us having the choices THEY have decided for us. Public schools, gov't run healthcare/banking/insurance/oil/etc. And yes, even what we eat. The more self-sufficient you are, the less control "they" have over you.

Hopefully this takes the sting out of Carrieg's comments but I'll say that I am in awe of what you have done. And if I am completely honest I am also jealous. Not because I can't do it, but because I am not willing to put the time and research into not just making it work, but making it work RIGHT. You make it look effortless when I know that it is not.

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. ~ Socrates

Carolyn