Gift of a lifetime

On December 21, 2012–the day of the Winter Solstice, I received the gift of a lifetime.

After the flurry of opening gifts had passed we bundled up and trekked across town (when I say “across town”–I mean that we crossed the bridge that spans the Kennebec River, and went from Anson into Madison), the two boys in tow, to the law office of Ernie Hilton.

This man has been so incredibly helpful during this process, offering his legal knowledge, as well as recommending the forester, Amanda Farrar, who roughed out the boundary lines for us for a nominal sum, and then in drawing up the documents that made the transfer of the 50-some acres from my in-laws’ name to ours, legal and official.

It was snowing on this Winter Solstice, and the roads were not good, so we decided it was not worth it to travel the twenty minutes to Skowhegan to get our one and only sitter and bring her to the homestead to hang out with the boys while Keith and I went to take care of business.  What’s more, William seemed to want to meet “the lawyer”, and as this is a family farming endeavor, it seemed only fitting that the children should be with us for this auspicious moment.

And so the deed was done–pun intended. 😉

In that moment I was as happy as I have ever been.  It was like the aftermath of the birth of a child, and I believe I can consider Runamuk my third baby.  These last two years of building up a business model, with the trials and efforts of conceiving this entity akin to that of the conception of a child.

You don’t always know that you want children until a series of events begins to form a notion of it in your mind.  And then, as the idea begins to take shape, you take steps to bring your ambitions to life.  Eventually you will hold that new life in your arms, and the dream has suddenly become a reality.  All of a sudden, you are the parent of this living, breathing creature.

Runamuk is like that to me.  It is in its infancy now.  And I will spend the next few years nurturing it, devoting countless hours of exhausting labor to raising this thing in the name of maternal love, to watch it grow and flourish, filled with motherly pride.

I am filled with gratitude and thankfulness.  My childhood was not a good one, and I could have turned out a very different person had I not met Keith in high-school, had I not been welcomed by his family.  I am thankful to my husband’s family for taking me in, accepting me and my oddities, and most of all for giving us this chance to do something really great with this land that has been in their family for three generations now.  I am grateful to be here, on the brink of this journey, and optimistic about where the path will lead us.

I hope you will check back often to follow our progress, and show support for local farms everywhere.

Thanks for stopping by!