Last night I attended the end of year school music recital and since I was meeting the children there, and I had to grab a bite and kill some time first, I took a wander through my old hood. It’s been eighteen months since I moved to the country, and I think it’s timely to appraise the difference in living situation.
At the old place, within walking distance there was:
· KFC
· MacDonalds
· Subway
· A nice Thai restaurant
· A bank
· A post-office
· A school (or rather, the school, as in the one in which my children are enrolled)
· A lotto shop (crucial to my retirement plan)
· A hardware store
· Numerous cafes and other shops
· Two pubs
· A park
At the new place, within walking distance there are:
· Cows
A surprising number of people have asked me if I’m ready to move back to town, and a television programme the other night essentially dismissed the idea of rural living as a futile exercise since all of the people they interviewed gave up the lifestyle after a few months and headed back to town. One particular couple chucked it in because they didn’t realise there’d be so much grass to cut. Yeah dude, there really needs to be more concrete in the country. Moving back to town would kill me. Okay, no it wouldn’t, but a little bit of hyperbole just adds emotion to the story.
And perhaps this might sound a little too evangelical, but living out here does wonders for ye olde mental health. It’s pretty hard to leave for work in the morning without a smile on your face when this is what you see when you step outside your front door.
Maybe it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is my cup of tea. It hasn’t always been plain sailing but by crikey, I’ve learned a thing or seven (at least) since I’ve been here.
1. Goats are stubborn. (I know! Who’d have thought?)
2. Water pumps run off electricity. When the power’s off, so is the water. It took me a while to figure out while the toilet wasn’t flushing during the first power outage.
3. Goats know when the power is off. Electric fences? Not so good for the keeping in of the goats.
4. Mice are nothing to be afraid of, but in any event, there’s no one around to hear you scream.
5. Never turn your back on a goat.
6. It’s not so much a matter of making hay while the sun shines as it is of making hay when the grass is dry. That is why your neighbour will cut hay at 11 p.m on a Friday night, not caring that his tractor headlights are illuminating your bedroom at 3 minute intervals and causing you to suspect an impending invasion.
7. You can’t catch a goat while you’re wearing slippers.