The Town Mouse & the Country Mouse
Okay, okay. How about just: town & country. Are you a city person or a country person or both or neither? Feelings about town and country?
Today I live as a mountain mouse. I've lived in suburbia, then a college town and back again in suburbia until I met my husband. He is a genuine through and through country mouse. We moved out away from the suburban city into the mountains. I think I will always be a suburbia mouse at heart though I really do enjoy living out here. A year and a half into it I find I'm not as jumpy as I used to be though I hope I never lose my vigilance in watching out for snakes.
The biggest difference I can think of between living in town and living out here is that for food I have to plan ahead. I cannot be lazy and say to my husband at 5 o clock lets go out to eat - do you mind driving back to where you just came from. It's too inconvenient to drive 20 to 40 minutes away to get to a restaurant. At least it's too inconvenient to do that on a regular basis.
So, this mouse stocks up. She tends to make a weekly food plan and even have a few back up "easy to fix" foods in the pantry and the freezer for when she feels lazy. I might not be as social as I used to be - I don't go to as many art openings - but then I'm not sure how many I went to when I lived in suburbia. If I wanted a life of going to art galleries and restaurants all the time I ought to move to the city and find a loft. I like to visit cities and I think I could live in a city but I like where I live.
I like being a mouse who has wide open sky views. Now, I sit on a porch with bigger vistas. I was content to sit on a porch in the suburbs too. The important thing is I like to be outside enjoying the birds and the plants. I'm content if I can sit outside and read a book. Happy to be able to take a walk. Out here it's a little more of an adventure. One must watch out for rattle snakes. So far we've only seen one - but we know they are here.
What else is here? - There are rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and the sound and rare sight of coyotes. We still have the stars out here though the light pollution keeps getting worse. The casino 10 miles away over the ridge keeps brightening it's sign and polluting the night sky. More people more pollution - I'm sure the rabbits and coyotes are not too happy with us humans.
The older I get the more I realize I will adapt. Where ever I am - there I am - so I find a way to be in peace with it. I've been lucky - I haven't had to stray too far away from my preference for New Mexico and it's enchanted land.
More Sunday Scribbles on this topic here.
