This is a long post and a long shot, but putting myself out there is the only way I've made it as far as I have, so here goes nothing.
My name is Kaitlyn, my husband and I have two amazing kids, and we are all Oregonians born and raised. We both grew up on small farms, helping to care for animals, the land, and our families, and we have always dreamed of the same life for our kids. We have christian, conservative values, and raising my kids myself and teaching them tried and true life skills is incredibly important to me. My husband works hard, and I save money for our family any way that I can - homemade simple meals, sewing holes in clothes, selling crafts at markets, and simply doing without, are all ways that we live within our means. However, it's becoming more difficult to stay hopeful for a better future as the cost of living increases, and it seems less and less likely that we will ever be able to afford the live we dreamed of for our kids.
For some background, me and my husband got married at 17 and 18 years old, we had no car, so we walked/skate boarded to our full time jobs at McDonald's, and after almost 2 years, we managed to save up and buy our 1970s single-wide manufactured home. A year and a half after that, and now with better jobs, we welcomed our son into the world, and I became a stay at home Mom. With covid, a newborn, and only one income, things were tight, but we made it stretch. Once my son was old enough, I started working some again, but costs just keep rising and it feels like we'll always have to struggle to survive, and we don't want that for our kids. Our home is old, cheap, and won't last much longer, and we pay increasing space rent with each year. We live 15ft from I5 and don't even have a yard for our kids to play in and it just breaks my heart. We had hoped to buy a small piece of land to call our own by now, or at least be much closer to that goal. I know there will be people who say I shouldn't have had kids, or I should put them in daycare and work their childhoods away to make more money, but the kind of person I'm hoping to reach with this post will understand where I'm coming from, and see the value in having a family, raising and teaching your own babies, and living off your own land. We've worked as hard as we could, got married, bought a home, and had babies (in that order!), hoping to keep growing in life and to earn something of our own, and though I'm usually optimistic and hopeful, for too long now I've felt like these goals are impossible, and I'm getting restless.
So rather than doing nothing, I'm reaching out for help with what feels impossible on our own. I'm wondering if there are any folks out there who are getting on in years, want a hand around the home/farm, and would like to leave land to an honest and earnest family. We aren't asking for anything in return for nothing. My husband is happy to do manual labor while not working, as is my (almost 5 year old) son! He's great at carrying things from place to place, and loves animals, the outdoors, and being helpful. My 1 year old daughter and I are handy around the house as well ❤️ I cook and clean, have experience caregiving for seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and a desire to learn any skills that I can.
My husband and I grew up with abusive and drug-abusing family in our homes, but we were both blessed with grandparents who, despite being taken too soon, instilled important values in our hearts. So we have no direct family to lean on for support, but we do have a massive appreciation for what a blessing that is to have. If you feel like reaching out, I'd love to chat and get to know each other! We could really use some decent parents to learn from, and grandparents for our amazing kids ❤️