Tuesday, November 03, 2009

My Happy Place...

Sometimes I wish I lived out in the country. I lived in a small town for a while, but it was a small college town in Appalachia, but I don’t miss that one bit. No, I would like to live in a small country town. A town where everyone knows you, and everyone looks out for each other, and where people actually know how to relax.

I would love to send the kids out to play (when they’re a little bit older of course), and call them back in with a dinner bell. No yelling or trying to figure out where they’re at…they would just know if they heard the bell, it was time to come home. They would run in and we’d have a great family meal, and they would rush back out to play until it was dark. The kids would learn what it was like to live simply, and to learn out to make up games instead of being bored with the five million toys they have down in the playroom.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to live on a farm…I don’t particularly like animals, or things that smell…I just want to live out in the country and have a farm bell :) It seems silly sometimes, when I think about how much I depend on convenience (like when I forget an ingredient and can run to the store and back in 15 minutes) – there’s no way I could ever give that up. But on my busiest and most hectic of days, I think about a little country town in the middle of summer, the kids barefoot and running around the yard, and John and I sitting on the front porch just watching them, and a peace settles over me.

So for now, that can be my “happy place,” complete with a dinner bell ringing in the background :)

2 comments:

Sherry said...

well I do have a dinner bell hanging outside my front door. Believe it or not when the twins were little, I even used it. They loved that bell. Now just for kicks someone will ring it and it drives me nuts hahaha. We are sort of country, live on a dead end dirt road, but no way "country" anymore. Way too many housing area's built up, but we are good, no one can get any closer to us cause we have 1 1/4 acres and privacy. I love it EXCEPT no way can I get to the store and back that fast!!! :)
So when you want to come to a "happy place" feel free to load up the family and come on over!!! And hey, I will even let you ring the dinner bell!!! :)

Jen said...

I grew up in exactly that small town - no stoplights, all the kids just ran around but you still had to be good because you just knew any parent that saw you would discipline you AND tell your mom about it. It was fabulous. We lived there until I hit high school and my parents got tired of driving us back and forth to the Big Town for all the activities (our town only had an elementary school.)

Loved the post...what a nice reminder!