Rural Living

As a child I lived on a farm and then my father died and my mother remarried and we moved to the city to live. I was almost 10 at the time and a only child, I felt I didn't fit in living in the city and wanted to return to the farm. But had been sold. My mother was happy in the city with her new husband and their 3 children. I wasn't neglected, but didn't change my feelings living in the city. I left school as soon as I could and trained as a mechanic and read everything I could on farming and raising animals on farms. I still wanted to return the country, not much chance of that happening. I also took trade course at night school in plumbing and electrical. I save my money and finally realized I would be far too old to run a farm by the time I saved enough money. At that time I was feeling rather dejected, then I there was a large jackpot draw in the lottery, I decided to invest in the lottery. Not all my money just over a hundred dollars. I didn't think I could win and regretted wasting my money by the time I got home. I didn't watch the draw or check my tickets, about 3 days later I saw a headline in the local newspaper large jackpot won locally. Yet to be claimed it said, the ticket were bought the same day I got mine and the same place. I started getting excited, maybe I had the winning ticket. But then I thought not with my luck, I had never won anything in my life before. But then I realized I've never tried to win anything before either. I wrote down the winning numbers and on getting home I checked my tickets. I did have the winning ticket and couldn't believe it at first. Lucky I was home alone as all the others were away visiting my mother's new in laws, I couldn't go because of work. I was always treat well my new stepfather's family. I rand the the claim number and talked to them made arrangement to collect my prize and when asked I said not for publication. it wasn't that I didn't want my family to know, I had 3 step siblings and one was only 5. I was worried that someone might hurt her to money from me. On their return home I told my mother Carol and stepfather John of my good luck. They were very happy for me, I told them I wanted to pay all their loans out and get them new cars each. They said I didn't have too and I should keep my winning for myself' I then realized they hadn't heard of the jackpot and how big it was. I told them to sit down first and told of how much I'd won. My mother almost fainted, after the excited had passed. I told after finding out my prize and waiting for their return, I had done some thinking. Firstly I would pay off their loans and get them new cars each, also I was going to setup college fund for my siblings. They are better a school then I ever was. of course I wanted to buy my farm away from the city. Even if I didn't run it as a business, it was where I wanted to be. So I found a rundown farm, its house was almost falling down and so were out buildings. It wasn't the buildings that caught my eye but the landscape. It had river frontage and 437 acres, that needed refencing. A clean slate to build my own place from the ground up. Carol and John came out on the school holidays to help me do work on my farm. My siblings loved the wide open areas to play around in, I didn't have any animals yet, except for a dog Mikey I got from a shelter. They played with Mikey and wanted to take him home with them and even tried sneaking him into the car when they were heading home. Carol saw him out of the corner of her eye. We had been camping in 2 large caravans, I had bought to live while the new house was built. One new and a secondhand one for me, now alone except for the builders and with the fencing completed by the fencing company. I decided I would build a chicken run myself and while getting all the materials to built I met Rachel 23 (at the time) who worked at the hardware/lumber suppliers. It was love at first sight for me, not for her as she always had men trying to pick her up. But I heard she was a good horsewoman, I wasn't a great horseman myself but had learnt to ride. I asked her would help pick out some horses for my property. After some more talking she agreed to with me to next sales and help me find good ridings horses and a pony for my young sister. I don't think she believed at first and probably thought it was just a way of getting close to her. But she first came out and checked out my stabling for the horses and made a few suggestions. The large steel built bard was up and still be fitted out inside especially for the horses. Rachel had told me not to have my workshop in the barn with animals. So I arranged to have a workshop built closer to 5 bedroom house that was nearing finishing also. We went to the sales and Rachel done all the bidding and I got 6 horses and a pony suitable for my sister. Over the weeks following we got closer and closer and ended up sleeping together the first night the house was finished. The only building still being built was the workshop, being I had totally fallen for Rachel I asked her to marry me and she said she would think about it. I might have been a bit to quick asking her to marry me, but at 25 (at the time) I didn't have much experience in proposing. The school holidays started the next week and the family again came to visit. My sibling were very happy to be back and after getting out of the car came running and straight passed me to Mikey who was locked in the house yard. That same evening Rachel came out to meet Carol and John and tribe and she accepted my proposal that evening. Carol was delighted and started planning the wedding straight away. Rachel lived with her grandmother Caroline then 62 and wanted me to build a granny annex for Caroline as Caroline is a very independent person. Carol answered for me saying of course he will. Now 15 years later we have 4 children and are building another house on the property for Carol and John as he is retiring and they accepted Rachel suggestion to come and live on the farm with us. My 3 sibling either are at university or working in their own careers. Still love coming to the farm and so with Carol and John home on the market. They will be here soon and their is only about month from being finished. I've never regretted my move back to the country.