The Virtaneva's at Wit's End by Amanda Optitz
At the end of Abbe Lane in Victor, Mont., in the shadow of the Bitterroot Mountains there is gray farmhouse, which sits next to a big gray barn with a plentiful garden and a small wooden sauna on the distant end of a large field. And next to the farmhouse door is a small sign that reads, "The Virtaneva's- @ Wit's End." This is the home of Kimmo and Monica Virtaneva and their children- Kalle, 18, Mika, 15, and Kaisa, 13.
"@ Wit's End," is a small 10-acre hobby farm Kimmo and Monica started after moving from Ohio to the Bitterroot Valley in 2000 when Kimmo took a position as a biologist studying infectious diseases at Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Mont.
"It's our mother's fault," said Monica, "She planted the dream world of a farm in our heads...the reality is it is a lot more work than we ever would've thought, but it's also more rewarding than we ever would have thought."
On their farm, the Virtaneva's produce eggs, milk, cheese, fruit, and vegetables in small quantities as well as raise cows, goats, chickens, ducks, honeybees, and most recently, a Red Wattle pig named Stuart Little. However, that's just the barnyard animals, they also have six cats, six dogs, and three parrots.
The farming lifestyle, however, wasn't something that came naturally to Kimmo and Monica. Kimmo is a native of Finland and comes from a city of over 1 million and Monica came from a "cookie-cutter" neighborhood in Bozeman, Mont. "We were both city kids, but we just thought it would be crazy to have all this land and not use it," Kimmo said.
Kimmo and Monica met in government class at Bozeman High School where Kimmo was an exchange student. They fell in love and after high school Monica traveled to Finland to be with Kimmo while he fulfilled his civil service requirement to the Finish government. The two then returned to Bozeman to go to college and traveled back and forth between Finland and the United States while the two pursued their educations, married, and started their family.
Then in 2000, tragedy struck the Virtaneva family. While riding his bike, Kalle, then 10 years old, was hit by a car resulting in permanent brain damage. From then on the family was never the same. Kalle was unable to handle a full day of school so the kids were pulled out of public school in favor of homeschooling. He is also inhibited in the amount of physical stress he can handle so family fun became more geared toward indoor games and computer-related activities.
“We are limited in the amount of traveling we can do because of Kalle’s health needs, so we stay pretty close to the house,” Monica said, “my challenge, as the mom, has been finding new and different resources to bring into our home for the kids.”
Some of the projects beget from Monica’s search for new experiences for her kids include language classes from a man from Spain, art classes that resulted in a four-wall mural in the family’s “Parrot” room, and music classes.
“We loved public schools, but it’s neat that the kids can really study things that interest them in-depth,” Monica said.
Mika loves guitar and has started teaching himself card tricks from videos online. Kaisa fancies herself a writer and an artist and loves to write short stories about mythical creatures and then illustrate them. To help stimulate his brain, Kalle spends a lot of time on his computer and Playstation playing video games.
Though Kalle’s injury has somewhat stunted the family logistically, the family still maintains a perspective of joy and exuberant play. They joke and laugh freely and the love that exists between them is evident in the way they help and support each other.
Monica asserts, “Sure, it hasn’t always been easy- this definitely isn't the way I envisioned my life when I was young- but, hey, all you can do is take the hand you're dealt, count your blessings, and make the most of what you’ve got."