I thought I would never find a house I could love more than the one I just left. I was wrong. Look at these windows! Nature is around me all the time. So soothing.
Replacing my former dream house seemed an impossible task.
This blog will hopefully balance my last two frustrated blogs. Kelly Swanson, motivational speaker and fellow 8 Women Dream writer, wisely commented on my blog where I said goodbye to my dream.
Dreams don’t die – they just take on a new shape.
Kelly Swanson
I’m over the moon to meet her in person and now that I’m about an hour away I can hug her finally.
I’m happy to report that she is right about dreams not dying!
My new home is the perfect fit for the me that is emerging after hiding away for so long. This blog will be more positive, but honestly the move has been stressful and exhausting. Moving (even after 20 moves) makes one question their sanity. No one ever dreams of unpacking boxes and giving up belongings because they don’t fit in the truck.
Today I’m going to focus on the many blessings this move has made apparent. Proof that dreams don’t die they change and grow.
I live on a farm!
It’s been a dream of mine for some time to live on open land without neighbors looking in your windows. My new neighbors are chickens, roosters and dogs. Every morning I hear chicken sounds and I think it’s the Bub crying. I’m starting to be able to tell the difference. Also, roosters don’t just crow at sunrise fyi! Remarkably, I’m able to block out the roosters after just a few days.
Nature surrounds me.
This is grounding and calming. We have a wide range of birds, including hummingbirds! We see deer nearly every morning. (The Bub adorably calls them “reindeer”.) Squirrels, lizards, hawks, sheep, frogs and more live here.
I am blessed with amazing people in my new life.
My parents are less than two hours away. Several friends from high school in Germany live here and it’s been amazing to catch up. We have kids now. And many a joke has been made about being old. I’m the youngest by 2-4 years so to be honest the terrible jokes are all mine. These friends have swooped in and helped me unpack. I can’t even put into words how humbled and honored this makes me feel.
My friends around the world are pure gold.
From Colorado, Texas, Florida, Canada, Singapore and many others. They check in, send laughs, and are always available to try and close the distance with contact.
I took buying food in a grocery store for granted.
I had NO idea how much work went into growing and harvesting food. Not just the back breaking labor of it, but the best farmers do intense planning to support an eco system. They recycle. They care about the environment. I’m starting to see the POINT of spiders. I’m actually letting them live. Unless they walk across my face at night. Those ballsy spiders are asking to be murdered.
The biggest blessing: I know in my bones that I’m right where I’m supposed to be.
Through the crazy and hectic last few weeks, I’ve questioned whether I was making the biggest mistake of my life. Being surrounded by loved ones, in this amazing house, in the countryside I am overwhelmed with a feeling of fate. This is where I am supposed to be. I haven’t felt this in many many years.
And my blessings in photos:
Sunrise on the farm.
Sunrise from my new living room.
Storm on the farm. Watching the clouds roll in, seeing the rain, hearing it is similar to the crash of waves on the beach.
Dew drops in the morning on the farm. Every morning I see some new beautiful thing.
Iman Woods is an American artist who specializes in pin-up photography. Through a unique and therapeutic process, she’s spent over a decade in perfecting, Iman helps women undo the damage from a negative self-image and unrealistic beauty industry expectations. She helps women embrace their own style of beauty and see themselves in a new light. You can find her on her website, ImanWoods[dot]com.
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