Homesteading, family and just a touch of wistful longing...

So, in addition to having the hobby farm, we both work full time. Sometimes more than full time. While we are not much different than many other people trying their hand at homesteading, what is sometimes hard for us is not having any family around. Family to help us for big jobs, family to invite over for big dinners and to share this wonderful place with. Sometimes in fact, we really grieve it. Me being from the east coast and M being from the west coast means we are in a bit of a familial no man's land. Building community is slow, but happening and we of course still have friends just up the road in Ottawa. But every once and a while we are really struck by how much our family would love to share this with us and how we would love to share it with them. We feel the twinge of sadness, maybe even shed a few tears, and carry on.