Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Brainstorm

I'd be so mad at myself if I moved to a city. What do people do in a city? What would I do in a city? I mean really, after all of your inside work was done, then what? Shop? God forbid. I hate shopping. Unless you count book shopping on Amazon. I can't even imagine how to fill a day if one lives in a city. I live in a small town now. Parts of it are like a city. I can be at the post office, library, corner store or bank in 10 minutes. 1 minute if I drive. Parts are like the country. I can walk a block and be out of sight of any house. I can see trees and prairie and deer prints in the snow. But a city? Please. Go outside and do what? And see what? My heart lies in the country. Places untouched by human hands. Wildflowers. Soaring pines. Trembling aspens. Nature. Connection. I am made for manual labour. I like to work hard physically. Don't get me wrong, I love to read books but AFTER I have worked and used my body. My body has not failed me yet. It does what I want it to do. Time after time. Recovery is just the slightest bit slower now that I am almost fifty. Almost but not yet. Not for a few more years. How can I be fifty when I feel as young and as fit as I ever have? Fifty. Hmmm. Yes, fifty. Time to make dreams come true before I regret not trying at all. Really, what do we have if we don't have dreams? I dream of wide open spaces. I dream of not seeing any other houses from my own house. Trees. I do love trees. I need to learn more about trees. I know the basics. Maples, aspens, pine, spruce, fir. Can you tell the difference between the conifers... just by smell? Well now I can. So can Athena. We learned this hands on in science. But really? What would I do when Athena is long gone if I lived in a city?

3 comments:

dawn klinge said...

Hmmm, I don't think you should move to the city! ;) It's good that you know yourself and what you need.
You already know I love the city, but I also love the country...I just don't want to live there. The main reason I love the city is that I like to watch people- and there's a never ending supply of interesting people to watch in the city.

Jen said...

Read this every time you start searching Battleford MLS. ;)

Kaivalya said...

I'm confused - are you thinking of moving to a city?

As someone who currently lives in a very big one, I thought I could add some perspective about what people do in cities (not that I think you should move to an urban centre - I agree that you would probably be quite unhappy).

Here's a list of the things I do routinely in the city:
-Visit the HUGE farmer's market at St. Lawrence on Saturdays. You would actually love this! Fresh eggs, different types of meat, produce galore, fresh raw honey...
-Long hikes in the ravines - the city has a huge system of large parks and ravines, full of wildlife (including deer!) and a variety of different birds. Walking through the woods of High Park is a balm for my soul.
-Picking up books at the local branch of our incredible library. I very rarely buy books because nearly everything I could ever want is available through the library. A few times I've even requested that something be purchased and they did it for me! You can search and request via your internet account and the books appear like magic at your local branch.
-Travelling to the islands on the ferry (in summer) with bicycles and spending the day on the beach, biking around, enjoying the water.
-Sailing and windsurfing on Lake Ontario.
-Visiting art, science and history museums (the tickets are available free to Library patrons)
-Listening to live music (I'm not a late-night girl, but many of the city's singer-songwriters offer early shows on the weekend before the bigger acts come on).
-Watching live ice hockey! I'm not talking about NHL, but the AHL team. The games are easy to get to, fun and affordable. Last time I went, my group was allowed to skate for an hour on the ice after the game!
-Attending knitting, spinning, crochet classes and 'knit nights' at my local yarn shop.
-In winter, outdoor skating everywhere, including the community-maintained natural rink in our local park.

I'll stop there, but I do want to add that a thing I don't do often is shop! I only go to a store when it's absolutely necessary, though I will admit that being in the city makes shopping much easier - I can find what I need without searching around and it's a quick trip.

And I *never* need to drive, which makes me incredibly happy (I don't even own a car - I rent one if I need one).