My transition to a small town has been painful at times. It took years for me to get over the loss of my City. There are still things I miss about it - shopping choices, advanced recycling programs - but with every year that goes by, I am introduced to more and more compelling compensations.
It could be that the virtues of small town life, in themselves, are of lesser importance than my emotional need to be happy...maybe I have just adapted to this slower pace, this smaller world, out of my own need for contentment.
I'm not sure it matters.
I've learned a lot in the last 9 years. Even more, I've learned a lot in the last five years. Conservation becomes ever more important to me. Careful consumption. Stewardship. Mindfulness.
The blog has been a big part of this learning process. There have been times I've been tempted to drop it - to stop this (increasingly occasional) conversation we have. Today, though, I was doing some small jobs around the house, and thinking about mending, and the things on my needles, and how I really should get the wheel outside and work on the Shetland, and I realised something.
I want to tell you about it. I like to talk funny nonsense, say sad things, and show you what I'm growing.
17 comments:
Love. Just, love.
What a lovely post. Lavender! Bloggy love.
So trivial of me, but I love those hooks & their iron medallions. Are they old? Currently available? They are fab.
PS -- I'm always happy to see your blog in bold on my bloglines.
I can't decide what's more beautiful - laundry or lavender.
Maybe it's the fact that the word verification bot has just given me something that's barely a vowel away from a filthy little bit of slang.
You know I've been a fan of your writing since you were, what, eight? I was pleased to find your blog and check regularly to see if you have posted something. I'm glad you are here, in blogland, where I don't have to buy a ticket to come visit.
We hope you don't go anywhere anytime soon :)
Oh...and I would so miss your voice! Please don't vaporize on me.
Lovely photo's in this one, along with the lovely thoughts.
I'll add my dittos. Contentment is priceless.
I love the new banner picture, though.
And, the thought of sitting with you in your backyard while you spin and I knit is a wonderful one. What are you doing late August?
XOXO. You, this post. And where you live sounds just about like heaven.
Love the lavender. And the flower girl shot.
This. I LOVE <3
Oh how I look forward to your thoughts.
I feel very blessed to have met you and call you a friend :)
I'd miss your writings, your humor, and your so very honest reviews if you abandoned this space.
Funny--I didn't know you were a city girl at heart. Your blog voice has always seemed very content with living a simpler, more rural lifestyle.
Oh, I just can't get enough of clothesline pictures, they make me so happy. Mmm.
Thanks so much for writing this, Shan. Fresh back from a visit to the now-very-big-city where my husband grew up (when it wasn't a big city) to visit his family, I've felt the pull of the urban jungle. The proximity of everything; the convenience of wide retail choices; the cultural and educational advantages for my homeschooled children.
And now we're back to our lovely rural community . . . where the air always smells like oxygen and trees and dirt. Where I don't have to worry about my car being broken into in the night. Where I can live quietly, move forward with Vern on building our farmhouse, and teach my children to grow up simply and with a deep appreciation for the world around them.
I guess what I'm saying (very humbly, although it might ring falsely of self-importance) is I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you. :o)
There's no place like home. I
'm glad you're here.
Now.
Hello. Stopping by to say that I pop in from time to time only to leave enlightened, inspired, refreshed... to go away with a smile on my lips and a desire to live more simply and more fully all at once.
Thank you. For being you. And for sharing you with the rest of us.
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