That's MRS Liberal, Tree-hugging, vegetarian hippie freak to you, Buddy!

T minus one week! In 7 days we will be living off-grid for the remainder of the summer at Loth.

Our family has decided to shut down our home and move to the forest. This is something I've done previously, though not with children in tow, so let's hope I have anticipated everyone's needs accurately.
My oldest daughter, Bianca, has opted to spend the remainder of the summer with her father, but my younger 3 children will be joining my husband and I, and we are ecstatic about the idea.

The plan is to set up a "Tent City" with 2 of our close friends, Hope and Kate.
It's always been a dream of ours (all the adults) to live as a community, off the grid, and completely self-sufficient. So, this is our opportunity to put it into effect and really see if we can hack it with all the kids.
Most people we know think this is a fantastic idea, but there are those who seem befuddled by our decision to do this. Honestly, I have trouble understanding why anyone wouldn't want to embark on such an adventure.
But, I will explain, in the hopes of clarifying for anyone still confused. Here are the reasons we think this is a fantastic idea for our family:

1. What an adventure! We all tend to have adventurous spirits and really do want to live life to it's fullest. We want to try new things, have new experiences, and challenge ourselves; our bodies, our minds, and our false senses of security. Challenge is growth!

2. Decreasing our carbon footprint and doing our part. We are a family who cares about the environment. With a family our size, though, it is quite difficult to run a smooth household on the grid without a lot of "stuff". Convenient, processed foods, microwave ovens, a million loads of laundry a day, 5 million loads of dishes and 6 million baths, a large vehicle, etc. Okay, yes, I exagerate, but sometimes it feels this way.
And, no, we can't change the fact that we will use more resources because we are a larger family, but we can strip ourselves of the convenience, as a reminder to use as little as possible. When water must be hauled rather than given freely with the flick of a wrist, people learn a greater respect for it. When a fire must be lit and tended, and is not just decor in a home or something you can easily get when you flick your bic, we are encouraged to consider the greater impact of the processes by which we live and a better understanding of the element.
And ultimately, in the forest, we need less. It's a wonderful reminder of how little we actually need to live on, and how we are genuinely happier when we aren't surrounded by all the unecessary stuff that only really serves to complicate life.

3. Challenge builds character. And living off grid is definitely challenging, at least in the beginning. We are challenged by the hard work that our bodies have grown unaccustomed to, we're challenged to spend more time outdoors and less in the convenience of our comfy, air-conditioned homes, we are challenged to fill our time with more productive activities than television and computer games, we are challenged to think outside the box, to re-establish a connection to nature, to each other as individuals. It's amazing how stripping away those extras that I was talking about leave you with more time than you could have imagined you had to spare.

4. I have 2 children with ADHD. The lack of over-stimulation will do wonders for them. They are calmer, feel more relaxed, and are better able to listen when they are not being bombarded by external stimuli like flashy commercials and the constant hum of electronics in the background.
Being in the forest allows them nearly endless room to run amuk, be wild and work out some of that excess energy.

5. We believe that it's healthy to redefine our definitions of security, and how better to do this, than strip it all away for awhile. Do we really need all the stuff we think we need? Does having things define our success or comfort? The answer seems pretty easy...in case you were wondering, it's a resounding "NO".
Sometimes we need to make life a little more difficult, take away some of our priviledges, so we appreciate them more, and so we can see a little more clearly what really matters; where our time and energy should really be focused, where it's most needed.

6. And lastly, for anyone still confused, I will offer two of my favorite quotes about forest life:

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ~Henry David Thoreau

Unquiet Souls, in the dark fermentation of the earth, in the never idle workshop of nature, in the eternal movement, ye shall find yourselves again. ~Mathew Arnold