As some of you know, a few years ago, I lost my job due to "downsizing" of the company I worked for. I had been there almost five years, was a manager of one of the stores, and was third in line of seniority in the whole company. Needless to say, that it was a huge shock to us and quite the adjustment. We, like so many others these days, had to make a lot of changes.
     We are not die hard preppers by any means. We do what we can. We raise and grow as much as we can each year and add to it the following year. We learn new skills. When we make any kind of purchase, we make sure that we both agree to it and it is a needed purchase that will be worth the money and will benefit this farm and to help us to maintain it.
     I was let go at the end of August, so the garden growing didn't start until the following year. We started our own seedlings, guessing on how much we would need. Usually in the past, we would have a garden, but just some tomato and green pepper plants that we would buy and throw in the garden. If they grew, great. If not, oh well. This time, things were more serious. We worked the ground, tended the garden and weeded it like our lives depended on it--because it did! We now grow more each year, can everything possible, work the ground, and plan for the next year to be even bigger.
     We've always been animal people. We've had chickens, ducks, turkeys, horses, goats, dogs, rabbits and even a pig or two. We've learned over the years how to take of them, from daily chores to tending wounds, illnesses and even birthing. There were always a few types of  animals that ended up back on the farm, rabbits being one of them. Rabbits are an inexpensive animal to keep, reaches processing weight faster, and takes little time or effort to raise. They are quiet, don't smell and are still great to talk to. They have their own personalities, like other animals. Some are grumpy, some are funny, some could care less if you are there or not. Some are very loving and want your attention as soon as they see you. If they could wag their tail, they would. Rabbits are awesome!
     Over the years, we've been brought back to reality. No spending the money that we have stupidly, everything fits the "big picture", everything fits in to what we want to see here on this farm. To us, losing the job I had, made us realize how much we wanted to make changes, we just hadn't done it. We were going through the motions of everyday living and the stress involved in trying to keep up with everything, at home and at work. Now, we enjoy LIFE. We want QUALITY of life. To us, making some very needed changes in our lives has given us so much more that money could ever buy.