One of my favorite things to pretend with my husband and son is “One day when we’re farmers.” We all have a kind of hazy, romantic idea about what it actually means to be farmers, mostly because none of us ever have been one. Naturally, when we’re pretending, we all imagine our own ideal of whatever farmer life might be like, and oftentimes, that ideal doesn’t include any of the messy details.

When my friend Melissa told me she and her family were going out of town for a week and they were looking for someone to watch their farm, I jumped at the chance.  A whole week to play farmer?! Yes, please. Melissa has a real farm, with tractors and land and a horse and a pony and dogs and ducks and goats. It’s l-e-g-i-t. She also offers classes and workshops for women and anyone who is female-identified. It’s kind of a magical place.

Though I had no practical experience in farming, over the years I have become quite excellent at camping, especially camping in places that don’t have bathrooms nearby (the thought alone used to horrify me). Melissa taught me everything I needed to know in about an hour, which at the time made me feel like I must be a pro. Of course, once I actually got down to the farming bit, I realized I didn’t pay a lot of attention in that hour, mostly because I was more focused on Instagramming the aforementioned horses and goats and dogs. Let’s just say… Melissa got a lot of text messages that first day or two.

I was also excited to stay at her farm for a week because I just honestly love hanging out by myself. I knew my husband and son would come out, and I, in fact, wanted them to come out and stay with me the whole time, but I also knew that they wouldn’t actually do that and that I would have pockets of time all by myself when I could just hang out with …me. Having the physical, mental, and emotional space to recharge by myself is essential to my own version of happiness.

At the time, I knew I needed some alone time, but didn’t have a clear idea why. It was just a feeling.

Source : https://www.littlethings.com/farm-sitting-happiness/