One of me and Seth's frequent conversations is what we're gonna be when we grow up. Seth's problem is he wants to be too many different things and has a hard time choosing which one he wants. My problem is I can't think of anything even remotely realistic (i.e. best selling author, world traveler, a chef that only cooks what and when she feels like it). Seth's tactic is to constantly worry about what to do. My tactic is to shrug and say, "Eh, it'll all work out."
But the underlying fear for both of us is that we'll never do anything meaningful with our lives. I mean, a career is a huge part of your life. So it would only make sense that we want to do really amazing things.
So, last weekend Seth and I were having a picnic in the park and began our typical career chat. Seth has been a bit more stressed out about choosing a career lately, which is to be expected seeing as how he graduates in just a couple months. This time though, he didn't want my usual 'it'll all work out' answer ... he wanted a real solution.
This is where my memory blurs a bit. I can't tell you exactly how it all happened, but somehow goats came into the conversation. Then goat cheese. Then the most perfect plan I've ever had for a lifelong career... GOAT FARMER.
I know. It sounds crazy doesn't it? Maybe it was the Capri Sun talking or the radiant sunshine, but even today being a goat farmer sounds pretty great. I'll break down the whole plan.
So, we'd start out with a couple goats. And we'd both keep our day jobs. We'd have a little house on a decent piece of land where we could have a big garden and have a nice pasture for our goats. I think they'd have to be milk goats though... you know why? Because the other part of the plan is that I would develop the most delicious goat cheese in all the land. I'd get a small booth at the farmer's market and sell my savory cheeses to the tree-huggers and foodies that love that kind of crap. Tree-huggers and foodies pay good money for local fancy 'artisan' stuff. I would know, I'm one of them.
As the years go by we get more and more goats and sell more and more cheese and I develop my talents as a cheese chef and branch out into other things like yogurt and soap. Seth helps with the goats too, because he thinks goats are cool like I do, but he specializes in growing organic produce in his giant vegetable garden. He also grows fresh herbs which I use as ingredients in my cheese.
Neither of us have ever milked a goat, or made cheese or had a huge garden. But, it sounded really fun. I don't think we'd ever want it to turn into a huge goat farm corporation, just a mom and pop sort of thing that we do because we like it. I know something like that would take a lot of work and time and planning, but somehow I know, it'll all work out.
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