I was lucky to grow up on 10 acres of land. This luxury seems to be quite rare in recent times. When I bought my townhome in downtown suburbia, I knew I was destined to a life with sidewalks, the noise of 495, the neighbor's washing machine, and other sounds and sights of over development. Wasn't quite what I had in mind when I was 13, but alas, these are the times.
Although I love my house and actually like the area, I was a bit sad that my children wouldn't have the benefit of land, their own basketball hoop, enough space for a legitimate game of softball, and most importantly, a horse!
I feel somewhat better about this now though. Several weeks ago, it snowed for several hours. It was a beautiful snowfall, and since we had no where to go, we could relax and watch the snow pile up on the deck. After a while I indulged myself and went outside. I bent down to pick up a ball of snow and then instinct took over. I began to roll the snow until it formed a much bigger ball. I'll spare you the long-winded description, but in about 10 minutes I had myself a snowman, with Hershey kisses for eyes, a carrot nose and a twiggy smile! It wasn't the best snowman, but he was mine.
Afterwards I took a walk in the woods behind my house. I knew a park was there but hadn't yet explored it. I was mostly looking for a hill where I know the kids go sledding. At one point, I stopped to listen to the snow falling in the trees and I realized, I could not hear 495. And I could not see a single house or structure. I was delighted that in the middle of the woods, I was suddenly not in suburbia, but the middle of nowhere where I could pretend to get lost and survive my way through the wilderness trying to find my way back home. (OK, although I enjoyed this game when I was a child, I did get lost a bit on this day and never found the exact way out that I came into the woods, and did make several circles trying to find it!)
I also discovered that the stream behind the place is quite wide at parts. I felt rejuvenated and could picture my children at 2, on Sean's back as we went on a hike, at 9 playing tag with their friends, at 14 trying to find privacy on the cell phone, at 16 tasting their first beer and cigarette, at ... well hold on, after that experience the woods are off limits.
It was a great walk, a beautiful snowy day and it made me feel good that not all is lost.
Although I love my house and actually like the area, I was a bit sad that my children wouldn't have the benefit of land, their own basketball hoop, enough space for a legitimate game of softball, and most importantly, a horse!
I feel somewhat better about this now though. Several weeks ago, it snowed for several hours. It was a beautiful snowfall, and since we had no where to go, we could relax and watch the snow pile up on the deck. After a while I indulged myself and went outside. I bent down to pick up a ball of snow and then instinct took over. I began to roll the snow until it formed a much bigger ball. I'll spare you the long-winded description, but in about 10 minutes I had myself a snowman, with Hershey kisses for eyes, a carrot nose and a twiggy smile! It wasn't the best snowman, but he was mine.
Afterwards I took a walk in the woods behind my house. I knew a park was there but hadn't yet explored it. I was mostly looking for a hill where I know the kids go sledding. At one point, I stopped to listen to the snow falling in the trees and I realized, I could not hear 495. And I could not see a single house or structure. I was delighted that in the middle of the woods, I was suddenly not in suburbia, but the middle of nowhere where I could pretend to get lost and survive my way through the wilderness trying to find my way back home. (OK, although I enjoyed this game when I was a child, I did get lost a bit on this day and never found the exact way out that I came into the woods, and did make several circles trying to find it!)
I also discovered that the stream behind the place is quite wide at parts. I felt rejuvenated and could picture my children at 2, on Sean's back as we went on a hike, at 9 playing tag with their friends, at 14 trying to find privacy on the cell phone, at 16 tasting their first beer and cigarette, at ... well hold on, after that experience the woods are off limits.
It was a great walk, a beautiful snowy day and it made me feel good that not all is lost.
2 comments:
What a great post! This made me miss you... wish I was there to go on one of our hikes together!
Love,
Meag
I could have used you. I kept going in circles wishing I had brought pretzels to mark my path.
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