It's hard to believe that two and a half years ago I would have done anything to NOT move here. And the other day, it dawned on me that if I was to ever leave, I would do so reluctantly, leaving behind many things I love. I began to think about what those specific things were. Here's a few, in no certain order.
1. Of course, the friends we've made. We've made some good friends that are irreplaceable. I can't imagine them not in our daily lives.
2. My midwives. We had a different main midwife for Lydia's birth than we did for Sophia. While Sophia's midwife was great, we only knew her for about a month. With Lydia's birth, we had a midwife that I actually met with two years ago. Delphine has been there for every step of Lydia's pregnancy. We just clicked. Piper was the assistant midwife both for Sophia and Lydia. I feel so incredibly comfortable with them both. I can't imagine birthing any more children without them.
3. Our yard. No traffic, no people walking by, so much space to wander around...
4. The 100 foot shag bark hickory trees in our woods. They are so funky, and I know Native Americans used to make syrup from the shag bark. I'd like to try that some time.
5. Our house. It's spacious enough that when the kids are having races through it or playing football, it still doesn't seem that chaotic. The best part is that it is not old and was built by a reputable contractor, so nothing needs to be repaired. Our house in MN constantly had something that needed to be fixed or replaced.
6. The lawn service. Not having to spend time mowing the lawn is priceless, but we could never afford it in a city. Here, labor is rather affordable.
7. Running into people I know at the grocery store. I guess there are times this is a negative, too, like when I'm not having much success trying to deal with a fitting toddler and I happen to run across someone I know. But for the most part, I love this part of small town living.
8. The drive to church. In the city, it included a 20 minute (triple that if it was rush hour) drive through downtown Minneapolis, amid all the people, concrete, and billboards. Here, it is a five minute drive through a windy country road. We see horses and deer and trees and flowers.
9. The fruit farm and the Amish greenhouse.
10. Turkey vultures and hawks soaring in the sharp blue mid-day sky, deer meandering in the backyard, numerous songbirds alighting on the trees, and NO MOSQUITOS.
11. Katydids, my favorite insect.
12. The hills. Not only are they beautiful to look at, they easily put a crying baby to sleep when you are driving through them.
And I'm sure there's more I'll think of later.
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