My sister shared this story with me. It gave me a lot of peace about dealing with upcoming hard times.

My sister and brother-in-law bought a little over 100 acres of raw land in East Central Texas last year. They "woke up" like many of us have, and are getting their ducks in a row. The land is heavily wooded, has two good sized stocked tanks (ponds) on it, has enough game to keep my hunter BIL happy for the rest of his hunting life, ad is unrestricted. My BIL bought himself a bulldozer as an early Christmas present, and with the International Harvester monster of a tractor he bought last year, has been busy clearing the property.

My BIL is a great guy- a typical Texas redneck. He chain smokes, drinks beer like Koolaid, drinks Crown every night to relax, eats meat and potatoes and that's about it, is overweight and has the BBQ and beer belly most middle aged Texas men have, and at age 48, has already had heart surgery. When his cardiologist told him he'd have to change his lifestyle or he'd die early, my BIL said, "I'd rather die happy."

My BIL hired a handful of Mexicans (nationals with green cards) to help him clear his land. They set up a makeshift camp and worked up there for three weeks from Thanksgiving through half of December last month. My BIL stayed up there and worked right alongside them. My BIL felt so good sharing this lifestyle with them. He quit smoking completely, quit the hard liquor, quit all of his junk food, lost a pants size in three weeks, and started to bulk up a little.

There was a 70 year old guy who was the foreman of the team. My BIL couldn't keep up with him. The 70 year old worked right alongside the 20-something guys that were working with them. His hands were massive and heavily calloused. He was incredibly strong and healthy as an ox.

The men set up camp, and immediately dug a hole in the ground for a fire pit. The fire was built completely from wood, with no charcoal or lighter fluid- no chemicals on their food. All cooking was done from this fire pit, plus this is where they warmed themselves. When they went out to a remote location, they took some burning logs and coals from this pit with them, and built a small fire.

They got up at sunrise, stoked the fire, and baked potatoes for breakfast. They ate baked potatoes with no salt or pepper or butter or anything, right out of the jackets. Sometimes they scrambled some eggs and had potato and egg burritos wrapped in corn tortillas, but usually it was just potatoes.

Every meal, every day, they had pico de gallo. This is diced tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers garnished with fresh cilantro. For lunch they had this with an avocado. Sometimes they made a pot of beans to go with this, but usually not. They ate with corn tortillas as their plates and spoons, so there were rarely any dishes to clean up. For dinner, they had pico de gallo and lean steak like flat steaks with the tortillas. Occasionally they might have a papaya or two, but not very often. They all like to hunt,too, so there is the occasional venison. They told my BIL they drink fresh deer blood when they process a deer, and that this is a Mexican secret to vitality and longevity. I have no idea if they were pulling my BIL's leg or not, but it's what they told him. :-)

These guys worked all day long, outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine from sunup to sundown. They had dinner at sundown, had a few beers, and went to bed when it was dark. They lived like this every day, running circles around my BIL. My BIL was impressed. By the end of the three weeks, my BIL had gotten off his heart meds.

BTW, the land is looking gorgeous.

I hope this story encourages someone else the way it has me.

Blessings,

Donna