We all have our own ideas of what makes the American dream.  For our family, modern homesteading is how we live the American dream.

Modern homesteaders.  What does that even mean?

Homesteader, noun:

a.) a dwelling with its land and buildings, occupied by the owner as a home and exempted by a homestead law from seizure or sale for debt.

b.) any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes its home.

c.) a tract of land acquired under the Homestead Act.

d.) a house in an urban area acquired under a homesteading program

So, we’re looking at building off of b: any dwelling with its land and buildings where a family makes a home.  However, this is just the start.  Our homesteading journey was born out of the desire to have a self-sufficient lifestyle and teach our kids how to do it too.

Use traditional skills, learn new skills, and make our own food.

It simply goes against our entire being to have to rely on someone for anything, let alone for our food.  If nothing else, the last couple of years have given us a small glimpse of how bad things could get.  Things that are completely out of our control.

Mark, having spent much time on a dairy, already knows so much about farm life and just basic skills in general.  We both have a huge passion to live a back-to-basics lifestyle.  Our beautiful homestead gives us just enough room for the animals and garden.  With our personalities and careers, it was just the natural next step for us.

Baby steps, mind you.

It started with the horses.  Then the dogs.  Our place at the time came with our own chicken coop, so the first thing we needed there was the chickens. And our small garden was such a great first step to start our own food production.   One thing led to the other, where we got the taste, the sweet taste, of days gone by.  A glimpse of old fashioned tradition, and we’ve been hooked ever since.  After all, sometimes it feels like we were simply born in the wrong generation.  

Now, in just a short time, we’ve totally leveled up our homestead garden and are on our way to much more food preservation through methods such as pressure canning.  Our shepinois was finally old enough to breed, so we have our first set of pups under our belt.  Lastly, we got our first Jersey cow, Gloria.  This sweetheart has been a great way to have fresh butter, cream, milk, sour cream, and more.

But what’s the modern part in modern homesteading?

Back to the definitions above, A and C, are the real homesteaders.  In fact, I have to admit I feel like a bit of a poser calling us homesteaders.  Furthermore, when I say we would’ve fit in with an older generation, we still love most modern conveniences including the grocery store.  (And soda.  A lot.  In fact, I literally have been drinking a huge fountain Dr. Pepper as I’ve been writing this.) However, we’re doing what we can to put all of this to good use so we don’t have to go to the grocery store if we don’t want to.

But truly, the homesteading lifestyle today is nothing in comparison to what true homesteading was back a few generations.  My dad tells stories of his parents (and even when he was a kid) of what real work was.  They knew what a real hard time was. We have one dairy cow to milk.  They had 20 to milk before school.  It’s actually kind of embarrassing even using the same word for this way of life.

Now this is interesting (taken from https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/homestead-act)

“What Was the Homestead Act?

In a July 4, 1861, speech, Lincoln told the nation the purpose of America’s government was “to elevate the condition of men, to lift artificial burdens from all shoulders and to give everyone an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life.”

He followed through with the passage of the Homestead Act, which remained active for 124 years until it was repealed in 1976, and resulted in 10 percent of U.S. land—or 270 million acres—to be claimed and settled.

The incentive to move and settle on Western territory was open to all U.S. citizens, or intended citizens, and resulted in 4 million homestead claims, although 1.6 million deeds in 30 states were actually officially obtained. Montana, followed by North Dakota, Colorado and Nebraska had the most successful claims.”

Ironically, Lincoln’s words play a major part in being a modern-day homesteader.  

We do this old-fashioned, self-sufficient, homesteading lifestyle to elevate our condition.  To lift the artificial burdens from our shoulders.  

How does it elevate our condition?

Well, our life has never been richer.  Sure at this point none of these things are fulfilling the American dream of working to climb the ladder.  We’re not actually getting richer so far, and none of this has anything to do with modern technology or the like.   But, it’s our version of the American dream:  Have personal control as much as possible.  Freedom.

What about artificial burdens?

To us, the great thing about being a modern day homesteader is that these things are not burdens. It is a lifestyle choice that is actually surprising it took us this long to start. Sure it can tie you to home. Turns out that is more than a good thing, that is the best way for us! We love being home on a regular basis. The backyard animals, raising our own meat, learning new things, small projects, big projects, you name it. We have a real connection with our, to us, perfect homestead. Good luck to you if you view this as a burden. As it would be, there is no better option for us.

It Starts at Our Home

And in our own backyard. Doing this together as a couple is so fulfilling. I love watching the total and complete look of satisfaction Mark has when doing all the planning and chores. It just does his heart good and revitalizes him in a way. Yes, it is constant, but so refreshing.

We love being able to show our kids that it is okay to do things differently. Frankly, some people think we’re just plain weird. I mean, most people love the latest, best, and fastest. Here we are trying to run away from that in order to maintain some type of real, in the moment, intentional living.

Hopefully the kids will never truly need to have these skills in order to live. Never-the-less, at least they’ll know how should the need ever arise.

In a way, modern homesteading is our way of trying to make the craziness of life stop, or at least slow down. Going to the barn and sitting with Gloria (the Jersey cow), or watering the garden for example, is one of the best ways to just clear your head. Regroup so you can go back into reality with a little more patience and determination to put up with all the madness.

This is for us. We’re loving it. No, it isn’t for everyone. Yes, there’s countless ways to do it, and what it’ll look like varies. This is our idea of the American dream, and here’s to yours. After all, isn’t that what makes our country great?