Making the decision to quit our full-time jobs was huge. We had actually talked about it for a few years. But, taking the plunge is extremely scary. No solid source of income to pay the monthly bills? It’s terrifying.

Although I loved my job as General Manager of a very popular restaurant in Pierre, I needed a break from the industry. The last year, I had been so focused on work I wasn’t able to take in the simple pleasures of the farm and gardening which had always been my outlet. Without that outlet, I felt like I was losing a piece of myself. A very important piece.

After much consideration and many discussions, Matt and I decided it was time. As of March 4 for me and March 22 for Matt, we because self-employed. B&G Produce is our full-time gig.

We are still working a ton of hours, but they are ours now. We literally spend hours of the day starting seedlings, cultivating crops, gathering eggs, feeding the chickens, hilling potatoes, direct seeding various vegetables, mowing the orchard, roasting coffee beans, preparing baked goods, and working at the Capital City Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.

The other day, someone asked Matt how he was doing and he said “Great!” Afterward, he looked at me and said “It’s so nice to actually mean it when I say I’m doing ‘great’.”

We hope we’ll be able to sustain this new lifestyle, but only time will tell. We are making sure to enjoy every minute of it. Each day, we say to each other, “I’m so glad we made this decision”. And that, is worth it all.