Ryan has always and I mean always talked about owning a farm. I never took it serious enough to really think it would happen until our first relocation for our careers.
We bought our first home on the east side of Waterloo. We were so proud to say we owned something. I ended up landing a gig that would help relocate us to the Chicagoland. Ryan had a career that would allow him to transfer but was warned of the reputation of what he may be getting himself into. He never really shared that with me until after we already moved. He knew I needed more and was willing to sacrifice.
We had made a commitment that when 5 years hit and if I had no advancement towards my goals we would come back home and buy a farm… Ryan was so unhappy in Illinois. He did however end up landing a sweet virtual gig. I remember it was the 5th year Ryan of course reminded me every day. I ended up throwing my name in the hat for a position with another company for a job in Wisconsin but that ended up changing a bit and was later told either Arizona or Colorado… I ended up getting the job. I told Ryan and he was reluctant, but I assured him he could pick the state and home. He agreed and chose Colorado.
We had a very short window to move. We searched for property after property, and it was getting down to crunch time. We ended up buying a property sight unseen spending an uncomfortable amount of money on the home for a one-acre property at the base of a mountain with a very flexible HOA that allowed livestock we were told…
Ryan ended up packing up our home In Illinois basically by himself so I could get to Colorado to start my new job. Ryan also did this for our Illinois move so by now he was a professional.
I remember the first day Ryan made it to the house in Colorado he was unbelievably tired but needed to run to the local Tractor Supply store with a trailer still attached to his truck with our belongings… I jumped in for the ride. I of course stayed in the truck while he went into the store and about an hour later he rolls out with a box in his hand and a Tractor Supply employee running out after him to give him a hat and welcomed him to the community. That particular individual at that time was about to be a driving force in Ryan’s life and provide the very inspiration Ryan was needing.
Ryan smiling from ear to ear hopped in the truck and handed me the box… I heard little chirps coming from it and I looked at Ryan and said you didn’t!?…. He smiled back and said I did…
From that point right there it was evident things were going to change. Ryan immediately started working on a coop setup and we spent quite a bit of money to do it in our backyard. We had two coops Ryan was starting to really enjoy Colorado living.. He named our homestead Mad Acre Homestead. Mad for our last name and acre to represent the one acre of land we now called ours in Colorado.
There was a brief moment in time where I thought Colorado would be our forever home…until the day we got a letter.
I was traveling for work. I traveled 2-3 times in a month. I was barely home. Ryan was the one taking care of everything. I heard the disappointment in his voice. The letter was from the HOA. The letter stated someone complained about our chickens and the noise.. mind you at that time we had no roosters. As soon as I got back home we went to the HOA meeting where they showed us the guidelines of no chickens. We were actually provided an old doc from our realtor that showed us we could have livestock.
We fought it and of course was a losing battle. So I did what any normal person would do… if you can’t beat them, join them. So I joined the HOA set on a mission to change the views of the community and get the ability to bring chickens back to our property. This was after all my dream property. I spent a lot of time changing guidelines and getting approvals. The next step was walking the pavement and then 2020 hit. At this point Ryan had enough. We were just informed my job turned virtual and that was the missing piece of the puzzle. We sold everything we owned that would not fit into a U-Haul and I mean everything, and we never looked back.
Moral of the story…If you think you will find happiness in things, you might.. but what is it costing you? I was so focused on never stopping and reaching the next bar that I was stepping on the very people who help elevate me to reach it and never turned around to give them my hand to pull them up beside me. It cost me time I could never get back. Time is way more valuable than things..trust me I know this far too well.
— Jamie✌🏼
Moral Of The Story 