Journey to the Farm (Part 3) - End of the line

Part 3: End of the line

When we first sat down as a group of prospective owners, we introduced the other two couples to the idea. We talked about how it would look for living arrangements. Two families in the big house, one in the smaller house. We started to dig into the details of how it would work. Once we started talking details, we decided to take a big step back and just go see it.

As a group, we travelled a few kilometres from Cliff and Susan's place to visit the farm. It was interesting to me. It definitely did not fit my prairie flavoured vision of a farm. We were able to take a quick walk through the main house. It was huge. The thought of more than one family in this house did not see quite as strange.

We took a walk around the outside of the farm. It was peaceful and serene. Nature was all around us. It was quite beautiful. We started to get excited. Then we went back to Cliff and Susan's to discuss it some more. Everyone took a turn to share their hopes and dreams for this venture. Marc and Katie had long dreamed of owning a bakery of their own. Though the location was not mainstream, it was not far off. Laura and I dreamed of raising our kids in community with hard work. Cliff and Susan were also excited about living out community, even though they planned to still reside nearby, but not on the farm. Paul and Fanny shared some of our excitement, but they were not sure if this was where they wanted to go with their family. 

It was a big commitment. We were up front about the fact that if this was something we all got involved with, we would be committing to this farm for at least five to ten years. We decided to take a week to think and pray on the idea. It felt like forever for Laura and I, as we were genuinely excited about the farm. It broke our hearts when Paul and Fanny came back to the group with their decision. This just was not a commitment they were willing to step into. No one could blame them. They were right and if they were not in it wholeheartedly, then we would fail.

The rest of the group decided to keep looking for other properties where we might go in with the smaller group and its financial assets. We did not feel hopeful as the smaller ownership group was making financing unlikely. We were ready to shelf our dream when Laura and Cliff began to scheme once again. 

They had a plan, but we would still need another family to make it work.

Part 1: An Unexpected Conversation
Part 2: Gathering Community
Part 4: The Fifth Element