As for the property itself, it's much smaller than we thought we would be
willing to buy. But it captured our imaginations. It captured the boys'
imaginations. From the moment we set foot over the creek, the boys took off and
had a fantastic time among the rocks and trees. It was the only property we
looked at that the boys specifically remembered, and cited things they loved
about. Even Zorak's eyes sparkled when he saw the creek, and the trees, and the
fruit trees, and the tree fort, and, and, AND!!! WOW. So, it's our own little
six acres in the boonies. It has the stream, some texture and slope to the land,
some open and some wooded. It has everything you'd need to really make an
adventurous childhood come to life. We're five miles from good hunting, two and
a half miles from a boat launch. It's a two mile trek to a little cafe and a
small market, but we aren't en route to anywhere at all, so the traffic is
nominal down our little country road.
Doesn't it sound great? Bob and I are always debating about what kind of a place we want when we retire. He wants a lot of land in the middle of nowhere, but I am always firmly on the side of staying in a subdivision. My arguments are along the lines of: I like having neighbors, so when we go away for a few days, they can pick up our mail instead of us always having to stop it, I like being able to take walks on sidewalks in a neighborhood, the boys like riding their bikes in the cul-de-sac, who wants to shovel a long driveway of snow (not an issue in Alabama, I know!), I don't WANT to be out in the middle of nowhere, etc. But when I read Dy's descripiton of her land, I thought, wow, the boys would LOVE a place like that. They would probably not even miss riding their bikes. They would be outside ALL of the time! And it's not even like I really socialize all that much with our neighbors. We do chat if we're outside at the same time, but except for Pam in Colorado, I've never had the kind of neighbor where we pop into each other's house and drink coffee together. (Maybe the problem is I don't drink coffee at all! LOL!) So I probably wouldn't miss the social aspect as much as I think I would. Being here in D.C. has given me a new perception of distance. There is Food Lion, which is close, but Sams is about 10 minutes away (and believe me, that IS close!), and the commissary is a good 35 min., if not longer in traffic. At least country roads pretty much always take the same time to travel, since you're not dealing with the vagaries of traffic. Hmmm. Definitely stuff to think about. Actually right now, I'm about ready to sign up for any amount of land any distance away from civilization, if it gets us out of D.C.! I'm fed up with the military medical system (but that's another post), and how far all that stuff is from us. As Bob always says, "We'll see what God has in mind."
4 comments:
Claire, I have always thought like you, but now that I am "older", I love the description Dy paints! I bet you would still be close enough to get to know your neighbors. In fact, probably closer than you do now...it just seems like "country" people help each other out more, and can have a much more relaxed, less rushed friendship. It sounds wonderful to me...if only we can all be with in a few miles of each other, then we would KNOW that we would be close!!!!
Not that I'm putting any pressure on you or anything *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*, but the things you like about subdivision living are exponentially better with neighbors half a mile down the road. They not only take your mail while you're gone, but they come in just before you get back to turn on your a/c and leave fresh goodies for your return. If there's a storm and trees fall in your drive, they come together to help - country folk seldom have to pay a tree removal service when a few men with chain saws and the offer of BBQ on the back porch that evening are available. :-)
The 30 minute drive "into town" from the country to hit Costco and the market is nowhere near as stressful as the 30 minute drive to Whole Foods on the beltway during morning rush hour, or worse yet, when you're still stuck there come lunch rush hour... LOL.
Sidewalks pale in comparison to ditches and hills for young male imaginations and activity. It helps hone the Protective Knight feature that seems inherent in young men. Good stuff.
And neighbors do still drop by for coffee (or, down here, tea - weird! *grin*) because it's a slower pace and there is time in the day for the people in your life. It's not meeting for iced mochas at Starbuck's for ten minutes between kickboxing classes and Tumbling Tots so much as it is turning the children loose to their imaginations for an afternoon of exploration and adventure, and settling on the porch swing to take a cumulative breath and "be still" for a bit with a friend. I love that stuff. If you're ever down our way, come sit on the porch for a bit. Trust me, you'll love it.
OK, but enough on the sales-pitch, eh? On the sidebar thing, I was thinking tonight, "I really need to update my sidebar. Of course, the minute I do it, Alaska's blog is going to crash again, two other people will move, and I'll find someone else to add..." And that's also why I haven't updated mine in eons, or you'd be in there, as well. :-)
Dy
LOL, Dy! You've convinced me--where do I sign? : ) Seriously, we thought we would go to H'ville instead of here (Bob had a job lined up), but this assignment ended up working out instead. And I think this is where God has us right now, since we've really been able to spend a lot of time with Bob's family during some hard times for them. But I am hoping to get out of here as soon as possible, and H'ville is filled with possibilities. Bob just brought home an article stating that they're moving a lot of jobs from the Pentagon down there. Bob is in space/acquisition, so it is a good fit. We'll see!!!
I hear you on God wanting you there. God had SO many good things for Zorak while we were in MD. I couldn't count the blessings on all apendages, honestly. And when it was time, He opened the door for us to leave. But not until we'd harvested the fruits He'd planted there for us. I love that He is in charge! :-)
Dy
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