One of my goals this year was to connect with more people who are like me – somewhat awkward, homesteading, homeschooling, preppers. I had the opportunity to connect with like-minded folk down at LFTN in April, and just this past weekend, I made even more connections!

Friday night, my parents had a bunch of neighbours and friends over to the lake house for a fish fry. My goddaughter was so excited to introduce me to a couple, because “Lettie, they’re homesteaders!” Well, let me test the waters, then! They are indeed homesteaders, living in an off-grid homestead not far from the lake! We had a great chat as the night went on, with me sharing some resources for them (podcasts, books, etc.) as we discussed our individual mindsets and views on homesteading. Let me tell you…it was so amazing to find people who introduce themselves as homesteaders, who are actually living the life. We exchanged contact information, and are going to set up a time for us to go over and see their place this week. I’m excited.

Sunday, we finally got to meet a portion of the TSP Iowa crew. I planned an outing to the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, followed up by a picnic at a nearby park. We had about 15 total people who made it out (there were two families who canceled due to sick kids), and had an absolute blast! We’ve all been chatting online for the past few years, and some of the group had met in person before this weekend. The kids all had a blast running around, seeing the fish, playing at the water tables, and taking over the park. The adults all stood back, letting the kids enjoy themselves, while we chit chatted about everything and anything. I was told it was the best meet-up for the group thus far, and Squatch and I have tossed out some ideas for how to make an even better event next year!

And, as you all know, I went down to LFTN at the end of April. That was definitely an adventure. I drove with 3 awesome women I had never met in person before – and we all survived, so we’e either all serial killers, or none of us are. Meeting everyone once we got to The Holler felt like I was at a family reunion. The best part – there was no judgment or negativity from anyone, regardless of whether you were carnivore, keto, eating everything and anything, homesteading, off-grid, on grid, etc. We all accepted each other as we were – there were no facades put up; I mean, we all smelled equally from lack of showering and camping. I came home from that event exhausted from people-ing for so long, but I was excited about all of the amazing connections I made there, knowing they will only grow and strengthen as the years go on.

This is what it’s all about, you guys. We all have our people, our tribe, our community out there. It can be awkward and difficult to find them, but it CAN be done. Now, my goal is to make these connections locally to where we live up in the Nort’woods. It’s great to have some awesome connections, but they’re all an hour and a half to three hours away. I’m talking people who are local, 15-20 minutes max away from us. And I know it’s not going to be easy, but we are going to find them! And now matter how scary or intimidating it is, i Know you can find them, too!