I’m a country girl. I’ve never been one to want to live in a big city. If that’s your thing, I totally applaud you because there’s no way I could do it. I prefer to live in the country where things aren’t as rushed and where it’s not as “people-y.” The summer I turned 13, my family moved from the small town we lived in to a 5-acre spread about 2 miles out of town. From there, I never looked back.
For the past 24 years, I’ve lived on the other side of the same small town on my own spot of land which is a continual labor of love and test of patience. If you’ve ever owned your own home or land, you know there is a plethora of things that always have to be fixed. The good news is, it’s yours. The bad news is, it’s yours. You’re the one who has to come up with the money to fix whatever broke. From huge limbs that fall out of trees, to rebuilding goat houses for the hundredth time, to roofing or pressure washing or well pumps or whatever broke that day, it’s on you.
Still, there’s just something about the peace that comes with being out in the country. From wildlife walking through the yard to the smell of hay when I feed the goats to the chickens cackling or the cricket symphonies at night, country life is for me. And I love the fact that we get to teach our grandchildren how to be as self-sufficient as possible, for you never know when the day may come that they will need those skills.
I love all things old and rustic, and I love to learn how things were done 150 years ago. I love watching chickens hatch and mama goats with their babies and using my coal oil lanterns. I miss the “good old days” where rotary phones still existed, air conditioners were few, and we played outside all day, only coming in when we had to; the Sears catalog was the highlight of the year, and we rolled change to buy Christmas presents. I miss the days when the emphasis was more on family and less on things.
I feel incredibly blessed to be able to share this love of country life with my grandbabies. What about you? Do you prefer country life or city life?