The Very Beginning: A New Place to Settle
- Happy Seed Sarah
- Jan 15, 2017
- 2 min read
In September 2016, we moved to Webster, MN. If you’re not familiar with this town (which I’d be impressed if you were because it’s so small it doesn't even have a gas station), it's a pin-prick on the map about 18 minutes outside of Northfield, MN. Prior to becoming the Webster bumpkins we now are, we were proud residents of St. Paul, MN. We had lived there for a significant portion of our lives, on and off. My husband and I went to college there and after a brief stint of living in North Central MN where we started our family, we finally moved our hearts back to the metro area. We loved St Paul. Still do. In fact, we consider it the place where most of "our people" are.This is the place where we find "our tribe". Aside from that incredibly important fact, while the Twin Cities is undoubtedly known for it’s urban access to green space, we just felt like we wanted more space to plant our roots and dig our feet in.
So we packed our bags and waved good-bye to the urban home that had been the birth place and holder of many tender and significant memories in our story. As our search for a new landing place continued, we kept in mind the requirements of our new home that we hoped for…
First and foremost, we wanted more land - to grow a bigger garden and to let our boys run wild, but yet we still needed to have easy access to downtown St. Paul near where the Hubs and I both worked. Before the big move, I had visions of being able to step out onto my deck completely naked and breathe in the fresh air and really FEEL the sunshine (refrain from obtaining that visual in your mind). I had visions of chickens free-ranging in the yard and the boys running wild and free (heck, they could be naked too) with giggles uncontrollably escaping their mouths as they played in the dirt and sand.
Needless to say, it MOSTLY played out that way, but not completely. Although the town we landed in is small, we’re “in town” none the less. We don't have as much land as we had hoped for. We’re next door to the post office, we have neighbors we can see out of our windows, and we’re across the street from a grain elevator that is as loud as ever during harvest season.
But, we DO have more space for gardening. We DO have more space to run around. We DO have free-ranging chickens. And we DO have a front porch swing that beckons you to slow down every time you pass by it. But most importantly, the house holds us well. An old brick building built in 1905 with an arsenal of history and life behind it, it has a warm, welcoming energy that has made it feel like home to us from the very beginning.
Sure, we gave up some "requirements"; we compromised a bit. But, we are happy with what we've been blessed with. And although I can't step out onto my front porch naked anytime soon, the truth is, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all!
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