Simplicity: aka doing things the hard way

I guess you could say I like doing things the hard way. I make bread. I cook nearly every meal from scratch. I make many homemade Christmas gifts each year. If we need something I am always thinking of how to make it rather than buy it. That's doing things the hard way. And when things are going as planned it really doesn't feel hard or difficult at all.

I have been doing these things for so long I hardly notice it. Now that I am an established cook and baker it takes no time at all for me to whip up a batch of muffins. Bread making has been such a regular part of my routine that I hardly notice how different it is.

I suppose when a new baker looks at a recipe for bread and they see total preparation time 2 1/2 hours, a novice would be scared off. That is A LOT of time to make something that is readily available down the road at the supermarket. Most people laugh, close the recipe book (or click off the website) and say forget it then reach for their car keys.

The simple life is not simple because it takes time to nurture and time to grow. I am not even close to being as self sufficient as I want to be. My efforts are never ending. While I can make bread in a morning between home school lessons with my kids, I still struggle with other things I wish to learn like quilting, soap making, organization and the dreaded vegetable garden. But I try. I keep going thinking one day these things will become second nature like my work in the kitchen. These things will have become so much of a routine that I won't notice that other people buy their soap or vegetables.

And sometimes life gets crazy. My efforts become more of a hindrance and I need to back off a bit. After a stressful week recently I reluctantly gave myself permission to buy some pre-made dinner items. No one is standing over my shoulder telling me I have to make everything from scratch or that I have to do everything the self sufficient way. So I eased up on my self-imposed limitations and bought some convenience. I used some prepackaged food and used my dryer to expedite a few loads of laundry. When I did this I feared I was allowing myself to take the easy way. I was worried I would become use to Easy Street and become lax in other areas that I once thought were important to simplicity.

Apparently I had no need to worry. That stressful week has passed. I am back to doing things the hard way; making bread and hanging up my clothes on the drying racks. I am just as frugally minded as I ever was and it feels good. I learned a valuable lesson. Simplicity is what you make of it. There is no authority on what is or is not self sufficient.

There will probably be many more stressful weeks in my future. Stressful weeks that force me to eat the odd meal at a fast food restaurant or feed my family from a box. I may end up taking the easy way for sanity's sake but in the end I will always find myself coming home again.