The spring edition of Kinfolk was dedicated wholly to the idea of home. Volume Eleven explored everything from living as one, to living in a full house, to being homeless, to being a wanderer, to furniture design, to home tours. One small section of the magazine explored four children’s ideas of their dream home. Each child described what their house would look like in one paragraph, which it was then built for them out of cardboard. I thought that this was such a beautiful and simple idea, yet one that was deep rooted with my own search for a new home. I was somewhat envious of the naivety of the children, yet found their imaginations to be extremely beautiful. I think the whole appeal of the article was geared towards the little kid in all of us.

The photo below is what my twelve-year-old self painted in my very first oil painting class. I stumbled across it very recently and very much by accident. Only after reading Kinfolk did I put two and two together and realize that I was doing exactly what the article was also exploring. I find it amazing that I had some sort of idea of my dream home before I was even old enough to consider owning any property.

Having already seen countless acreages, Geoffrey and I have turned our search to include homes on large lots situated in small towns outside of our current city. One particular home was located in the village of Meacham, Saskatchewan. With less than 100 people inhabiting the small town, to say that it looked and felt different from our current city of over 300,000 would be an understatement. However, that is what I find so tempting. As I grow older and am becoming more self aware, I notice that I seem to feel more at home in smaller towns that offer next to no amenities. I love the idea of living in a Tiny House, off the grid, in the middle of the prairies, and with a few acres for our animals. I would like to be young and mortgage-free, and to grow our own food and raise chickens, of all things. I want to live quietly with my small family amongst nature. I want to accomplish these dreams sooner rather than later.

Emory