Since this is my first blog,I’m going to tell you about myself,and this will then become my,”About Me” page…..I’m starting this blog to show people what a healthy life you can have when you are in tune with nature and animals. I’ve never exercised,and people ask me Constantly what I Do to stay in such Great shape. It’s my lifestyle,not a fad or a diet or an exercise program,it’s just my Daily routine of living!!!
I am a 38 year Young,single mom of an Almost 14 year old son. I have 2 amazing dogs,a bunny,and a sugar glider,and no,I do Not live on a farm,ha!(Although a dream of mine to come true one day!) We live in the southeastern USA,but I grew up in the northeast. I miss living in the mountains,but do Not miss the cold and the snow!! I am an assistant manager at a high-volume bar,and although it Can be fun at times,and it Does pay the bills,Not what I want to spend my life doing!
I’ve always been a “Tomboy”…..grew up in the creek,paddling a canoe upstream or running tubes downstream with my sis & cousins,fishing off the bank,playing in the mud,catching fireflies,Always bringing home strays,fighting with boys,and hunting with them later!!! My parents were straight out of the 60s,an ex-biker and a hippie love chick! So,I had this determination that I Can do Anything Any man can do,& I’ll do it better!!!! Oh,I forgot to mention,I’m barely 5′,and just bout 100lbs,so you can imagine there’s a lot of people that think I can’t do a Lot!
I spent most of my childhood on my grandparents fruit farm,outside the city,gorging myself on plums,cherries,apricots,raspberries,you Name it!!! There were 5 hunters in the family,so we had deer,turkey,goose,duck,quail,pheasant,squirrel,& more,hogging all the space in the Three deep freezers my grandparents had! We never bought meat,or fruit,or veggies,we just hunted and grew. There was never a time in my life I can remember not having a dog, and my grandparents always had 3 English Setters,hunting dogs,but my best buds growing up!
I moved away to the mountains in my early 20s with my high school sweetheart. I was working at a pharmacy,looking out the big window at the beautiful landscape,browsing through the paper,bored,and longing to be outside,and I saw an ad for a trail-guide at a stable….that was the end of my pharmacy career!!!! I spent the next 10 years living a dream!!! Rode up and down the mountains,in the snow,rain and sleet. I trained new and green ponies,learned all about first aid for horses,even saved a few of their lives! Even watched a few perish. Learned to hitch and drive a three horse sleigh,and I ran the barn on my own when the owner would go away. I also worked construction,digging holes,nailing joist-hangers,mixing concrete,moving lumber,and I loved that too! Eventually,they stopped letting me work construction when I got pregnant,but I rode & worked with horses to the day my son was born!! What a sight,a 5′ gal with a basketball-belly,trying to climb onto a 1,000+lb. horse!!! We even stopped at the barn on the way home from hospital,and double rode on a huge,sweet,old,white Percheron! Three days old and already riding!
Sadly,after my son arrived,his father’s construction business slowed to a sluggish-crawl,and,as true of many dream jobs,mine didn’t help pay the bills,and I had to leave the stables. I took a job at a convenience store/deli in town and it paid great,but was like death to me. It was a hard time in my life. Torn between wanting to be home with my son and Needing to go to a job I HATED!!! Every chance we had,I took him in my garden,Full of veggies,he’d walk around eating a stalk of broccoli like an ice cream cone! Since we were lucky enough to live Right on the edge of the state park,we hiked every trail by the time my son turned four!! I’d take him and our 2 chihuahuas way in the middle of nowhere,2,3,8 mile hikes!! WE would come back in the dark and get yelled at for being out too long!! We would bring lunch and fishing poles & go “get lost” by the river all day!!! My boy was rafting down that same river with us before he was 3!!! We had a secret spot where we’d go pick the BIGGEST,Sweetest swamp Blueberries you can ever imagine!!!! Once,we even saw a bear out snacking them with us when we got a lil too deep in the blueberry forest! That is where we picked our first milkweed plants,and began to breed,raise,then release Monarchs! Over three summers,we released over 100 Monarchs to begin their long journey south!!
My son’s father was never as enthusiastic about the outdoors as I have always been. He’s more of a stay-inside-&-play-video-games guy. (I taught him how to change a tire and the oil in his car,and taught our son how to fish.) So,I’m sure it won’t be a surprise that we had problems. And,as his business was slower and slower as the years went on,(not by his fault,it just was a bad time for new construction. I was always proud of him for his work!),it took a toll on our relationship,too. Since this blog is about healthy living,I won’t go into this much,but won’t omit it completely as it’s a huge part of my life. But,since we had nothing really keeping us there,and we felt like maybe a change would be good for our relationship and our family,we decided to migrate south with the damn geese and the monarchs we’d released!!
I NEED Nature!! I wanted the warm sunshine of the south,but feared the unknown….i.e.,sharks,gators,cottonmouths,hurricanes,etc!!!! But,when you want to save your family,you make compromises,right? He wanted warmth,and,I can’t say I blame him. I mean,we both worked outside as a living for MANY looong years,in the Brutal cold(-10,the REAL temp,-3o wind chill,common for days!!!!),we “survived” the winters,but we struggled. Why wouldn’t we want to move where you don’t have to worry about icy roads that nearly killed us both many times,and DID kill people we knew? I was on board,and once we decided,we packed up our shit & went!!!
I had the hopes that a fresh start would save my marriage. We’d had MANY many rough times,and made it through,together. After a bad 2 years here,I couldn’t deny that it was over & we split. It’s hard living where I can’t walk out my back door and Literally get Lost in the woods! But,I am surrounded by water…the ocean,rivers,lakes,streams,creeks. It’s been a learning process,the best way to get over your fears(deadly water creatures!),is to educate yourself! I was used to jumping in any water I see,and my only worry was a dang snappin’ turtle!
So after my divorce,I started to take advantage again of the natural resources that surround me. I found hiking trails,short and flat for what I was used to,but a beginning! Started riding my bike on the beach,and this beautiful wooded trail 20 minutes away. I found horses again,started taking my son to the batting cages,we found a bocce ball court,and rode bikes there and to play basketball,bought horseshoes and started surfing too! We go camping every spring break,3hrs away,with the dogs,in a tent! We bought kayaks and paddle the ocean,the rivers and streams,near and far. We drive an hour away to go to this awesome outdoor shooting range in the national forest,and even bring the bow sometimes. Every summer,we go vacation in the mountains and hike and whitewater raft literally EVERY Day!
We both love music,my son’s 1st concert he was 8 months old,and has been to over 15 concerts and one festival along the East coast at age 13! He has done karate,and also did MMA for a few years. He still rides horses,even worked a killer summer at my friend’s place with me,helping do Everything,from taking out trail rides to MAKING trails with the owner,cutting trees and anything to help take care of the horses! He’s in all honors classes,on the football team,and wishes it was a year round sport!!! I love to dance,& anytime a Grateful Dead cover band is ’round town,I’m there shakin’ what my mama gave me!!!
The point to telling you this random compilation of activities? To give you insight on what my daily life entails……how my lifelong love of nature and the activities I pursue keep my body And my mind healthy!!
Don’t get me wrong. My life is Far from perfect!! I have real,life-altering issues,just like you All. But there is not a thing in my life,that a walk in the woods in the fresh air,or a paddle down the river at sunset,cannot clear my mind! Shows me how Small I am,how Big nature Is! It’s looking forward to taking my son and dogs on an adventure that keeps me going. And it’s those “adventures”,that keep us Healthy! In this blog,I’ll share the healthy activities we partake in as a part of our lives,hoping to inspire others to take more time for themselves,Really enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer,and reap the benefits of living in sync with Mother Earth!!!
Thanks for following along my tale,I’d love to read comments,and stories of your nature-loving endeavors that keep you and/or your family active! Till next time,focus on nature,and you Will live a Happier,Healthier life! You won’t be able to help it! Peace and Love!
MamaEarthChild 