Green Acres

When I first met David I had just returned from a trip to New York City three months prior and had spent the summer living and working near Minneapolis with my aunt & uncle. It seemed the "Green Acres" theme song was written just for us--even if it did make its debut over a decade before either of us were born. He was all fresh air and "farm livin'". I couldn't wait to get back to Times Square or Park Avenue (which I have yet to do).
To be fair, I never did want to end up living in a big city. I had grown up in a small town and wanted to pursue my teaching career in a small town school--not Public School #-whatever somewhere in Brooklyn. However, where I am is a bit more rural than I had imagined.
Overall I have done better than expected out here in the country, but sometimes I really remember the advantages and how it felt to live in town. We just spent of a couple days with David's brother & his wife at their home. They live in a new quiet neighborhood in one of the larger SD towns. They do not have children yet, but their neighbors do and all of their back yards open up into Rainbow Play Systems Central. All of the children play on each other's swings, slides, and jungle gyms and ours were as welcome as those who lived there. That night we used their neighbors' patio and fire pit (with permission, of course) to sit around, talk and laugh.
It is that neighborhood camaraderie that I miss most about my days of living in town. It is that give and take, the watching out for each other, the passing of cups of sugar and children back and forth, that forges friendships. Yes, I am fortunate to have several neighbors a mile or less away, but it is just not the same as saying "hello" across the property line or across the street like I could do when I was growing up.
David grew up much differently than I did. His family's location--on a secluded farm with parents who were working there--meant that his community was his immediate family for the most part. It is because of this, I think, that he absolutely thrives on being self-sufficient and sometimes gets frustrated if I haven't stocked the freezer with 50 pounds of flour and need to call neighbor Camille for a cup. That's just what we did in town if the grocery store was closed. The next day or week we were happy to run something over to one of our neighbors if she needed one of our pantry staples.
As I was pondering the joys of city life yesterday on the way home, David piped up in the middle of my daydream and once again declared his undying love for rural life.
It looks like I must follow Ava Gabor's lead and say good-bye to city life forever. It could be worse--instead of a dog named Callie, I could be taking care of a pig named Arnold.