Different Worlds

Today I attended the regular monthly luncheon for the local DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) branch, which was a lovely affair, complete with red, white and blue place settings, some light salads and crackers, and a presentation on researching British ancestry.  On the whole, it was fantastic, except for the fact that their idea of lunch was, unfortunately, my idea of a light snack.  

Basically, this is because they eat like ladies and I eat like a farmhand. 

So I supplanted lunch by stopping at a sandwich place on the way home for some grilled chicken and a whole wheat roll with butter and strawberry jam, and as I was gratefully knocking all that back I had to laugh at the fact that I negotiate between two completely different worlds so much.

Maybe you do the same.  It could be a difference between your work life and your private life, or your family life versus your time with old friends, but many of us find ourselves straddling two different ways of living, or more.  Yet in the transit back and forth, there is often a beautiful balance.

I love down-and-dirty homesteading, for instance.  I love the simplicity that comes from making things myself, hanging my wash on the line and growing my own food.  But the other day I was reading a homesteading blog where the author (and many who commented on her post) were discussing getting rid of all clothing that they didn't wear regularly.  "I'm heading towards just having one uniform --  jeans and a t-shirt," one commenter stated, to the agreement of many others.  

It was interesting, because I could never do this.  As much as I love the simple life, I also love beautiful clothes, vintage accessories and cute shoes. I love standing in the often palatial halls of a winery tucked into the California hills with a glass in my hand and eclectic company surrounding me, watching the sun set. 

If I linger in those halls too long, I begin longing to be back on my hilltop, with my pellet stove, my dirt and my animals again. But its a fact: some of the pleasure of all that refinement comes from the juxtaposition of spending my days getting dusty, sweaty and sore doing manual labor, then jumping into a late afternoon shower, washing off the day, and putting of a fabulous dress and heading out the door when evening comes.

There are some in the homesteading community so dedicated to living the 1800's Life, as a lifestyle, that they would probably call me a poseur, and that opinion would not bother me, even though I don't agree with it.  I believe there's room for all kinds of homesteaders, and my homestead may function a bit differently than yours, just as yours will from somebody else's.

Besides, when I read those really hard-core homesteading blogs, I sometimes wonder what's not being revealed in the blog -- like maybe the fact that they keep a stash of Twinkies or Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the cupboard or occasionally spend a day doing nothing but lounging on the sofa and wasting electricity by watching reality TV shows. You never know.

All I do know is that for as many people as there are, there are at least twice the number of lives that could be lived by each of them.  Day life versus night life.  Hometown life versus vacation life. Homestead life versus wine country life.

There's room for all of it.