The Carpenter and I are about to be townies again. We’re packing up our life on the farm, we’ve re-homed all our feathered friends (honestly the hardest part of all), and we’re moving back to the town where we first landed in Wellington County 23 years ago.
For the last two years, we ran a glamping business on a beautiful farm on the outskirts of some of the best tourist draws in the county. We hosted tourists from across Ontario, the United States, Brazil, New Zealand, India and Africa.
We’ve never worked harder and with more passion for a project than this one. Good news: our marriage survived. I dare say, it brought us even closer together, because it showed us the best sides of ourselves: a shared work ethic while trusting each other to respect our individual skills. Teamwork. Pride. Hospitality.
We brought in chickens and ducks to introduce urban kids to rural life. Collecting eggs in the morning was a thrill for them. We watched adults giggle with delight as they fed baby ducklings frozen peas. We loved seeing people marvel at waking up to the neighbour’s cows gathered at the fenceline, curious about our guests.
Watching kids explore nature, chasing butterflies in the forest while searching for the fairy houses we’d put along the trail, picking up caterpillars and toads and learning to release them safely to the gardens, it was amazing. We also watched our daughter teach guests, many of them new Canadians, to roast marshmallows and make s’mores for the first time, creating memories.
We saw people marvel at the stars in the night sky, because there was nothing blocking the natural splendour of the light show above. Simple things. Sunrise. Sunsets. Nature. Connection.
We watched friends reconnect, laughing into the night. We had couples take a break from routine. We saw artists come for a creative reset and find inspiration in our landscape. We enjoyed families who snuggled up in a hammock for story time among the pines. We met yogis who stretched out under the trees. We had guests share meals and their cultures with us.
We had guests open their hearts to us about real-life struggles by the glow of the bonfire. What an honour to share this space with them. This is what I will take away from this chapter of our lives.
We loved this job. We loved this property. Wholeheartedly, we loved this lifestyle. And we’re grateful for the opportunity and trust of the farm’s owners, who allowed us to live this crazy dream. It was a risk worth taking, and while we hoped for longer, we knew it wasn’t forever.
On my last weekend at the farm, I walked around the property. I felt such deep gratitude for this historic farmhouse and all the memories we made within its walls. Living in a piece of Canadian history was a dream come true. I looked out over the fields, the spot where the chicken coop used to be, and the spot where the duck’s pool was a hub of activity.
Everything was quiet now. It helped me feel ready to move on; as if that piece of me that needed filling was now filled. I experienced what I wanted to and learned what I needed to.
And I’m grateful for it all.
