21centuryhomesteader

Have you ever wondered what people did before the advent of radio, television, or video games? As I have pointed out to my children, people didn’t die of boredom, in the millennia prior to the modern age. Since getting rid of our satellite television, my mind has turned to alternative forms of entertainment. Here are some of my ideas.

1. Play a game. We have a weekly penny poker night with our children. I would recommend Yahtzee, Chess, Sorry, Rook, Scrabble, or Monopoly.

2. Take turns reading a story out loud.

3. Start a family band.

4. Have a family cleaning night.

5. Hold a family talent competition.

6. Invite friends over for dinner.

7. Camp out in the back yard. Build a fire and roast hotdogs and make s’mores.

8. Have a story telling night. Let one person start, the next adds to the story and so on and so forth.

9. Create a family theater. Encourage the kids to write and put on plays for the family.

10. Take up a hobby. Paint a picture or sculpt. Knit or quilt. The possibilities are endless.

So these are some of the things we are going to try. I would love to hear what your family does on T.V. free nights.

What is homesteading? I know what came to mind when I first heard the term. I thought of the land races of the late 1800’s and people trying to live off of the land out in the middle of nowhere. Does this still exist today. I’m sure it does in some places, but not on the good old Circle B Chicken Ranch. Instead, I aspire more to the spirit of homesteading. And just what is that spirit you may ask? Well, I think that it is the drive to create choice where none existed before. Choice is power. And so many of us are powerless. Maybe I am a dreamer…but there is coming a day, when I want to be able to tell the electric monopoly , I mean company–”No Thanks, I have other options” ; when I can forego the big, overgrown super-store and grow my own organic food.

Are you ready to leap out of the box of convention? Are you ready to rethink your necessities and how you live? Are you ready to take back choice? Are you ready to live simpler, greener, and cheaper? I know that I am.