The Change....(No not THAT one)

I have come to an important realization in my life. Before I elaborate on this realization, I need to give you a little background. I grew up in a little town next to a big city in SW Florida. We weren't really outdoor people unless you are talking about being in the pool or at the beach. I never knew a person who hunted and only one or two that fished. My food all came from Publix. My meat came from the Publix butcher who wore a white lab coat and a white paper hat. He always smiled too. The meat was on styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic and I never questioned this set up. Fast forward to my early 20's and into my life comes my wonderful husband who, I am not sure how I missed this, hunted and fished his whole life! He actually shot animals and ate them! WHAT????? No, no, no. That is not how I did things so, after we were married, our meat came from Publix, on styrofoam and wrapped in plastic. When money got tight, our meat still came wrapped in plastic but the name "Walmart" mysteriously appeared on it. Fast forward again (hope no one is getting motion sickness) to a couple of years ago. We had moved from 'city' Florida to 'country' Georgia in 2005 and hubby decided that we needed to get back to the basics so he began serious hunting to fill our freezer and feed us. I humored him. I agreed that from October to January, I would be a hunting widow. Mainly because it put me in charge of the remote quite a bit more often! Then the WIERDEST thing happened. I don't know when the change happened but happen it did. Here comes my big revelation....I actually prefer the meat harvested from our own property. I still get grossed out when I catch a glimpse of hubby processing a hog or deer but I have made peace with the actual eating of that animal. Me! Little miss styrofoam and plastic. I knew the change was complete and permanent when I asked hubby if he would mind butchering chickens. He looked at me and said " Honey, just because your hens aren't laying a lot of eggs right now doesn't mean we need to kill them." I explained to him that I wasn't about to eat my 'girls'. I want to raise meat chickens. The look on his face was priceless!!! Like he just couldn't comprehend those words coming out of my mouth. His response? "I don't mind at all". What a guy! I have now decided that I don't ever want to buy meat from a grocery store again! It truly scares me. Have you ever seen those documentaries on slaughterhouses? THAT is what grocery stores carry. THAT is what was on styrofoam and wrapped in plastic. THAT is what I used to insist on. THAT scares me! So, my plan is this-hubby hunts and fishes and gets what he can to put in the freezer. (We are so blessed to live in an area that is full of deer and hogs) Until we can get our own cows, we will buy grass fed beef from a local farmer. I will place my order for some meat chickens to raise and, well, you can guess what will happen to them. I even have an interest in raising sheep for wool and meat.  I feel so much better now :)