Making Transitions and New Adventures

I am really noticing more and more families wanting to move out of cities into small towns, or out into the country where their children will have lots of room to spread their wings and room to roam. They will be in smaller classrooms where there will be about 15 students rather than in a classroom with 25 - 28 students. They want their children to experience getting out of the house and not sitting in front of a TV or computer, or continually talking on a cell phone, but the fun of playing with and caring for farm animals, going to the pond out back and throwing a fishing line in the water, swinging on an old fashioned tire swing or catching fireflies or as some call them "lightening bugs" in a mason jar as dusk begins to fall. The picking of fruit from the tree or a fresh tomato from the vine in the garden out back.

Mom and Dad may have to work in the city, but are now anxious to get home to their new lifestyle and relax. They like going back in time, to being more self sufficient, with their own vegetable garden, raising chickens for eggs and meat, maybe a goat or a cow to milk  and a horse or two to ride along dusty trails, soaking in the beauty of the country that surrounds them. We now live in such a fast paced world, rushing here and there, relying so much on all the fantastic electronics in our lives, that we forget to take time and appreciate the simpler things in life and I think the thirty and older crowd are now beginning to realize that.

I basically have been a city girl most of my life, only having the luxury of living out in the country for about six years, when we lived in the Austin, Texas area. Being born in the Midwest, in Michigan, I always joked with folks that when they said booties I thought they said boots and that is why my heart has always been in the wide open spaces!  We may no longer be in Texas but we are in Oklahoma and we love it here as well. There is nothing better than trading in a suit or a dress for a pair of jeans, a simple T shirt and a pair of boots!

I am so thankful that my grandchildren are going to have the experience of living in the country I know they are going to love it. From the gathering of eggs, chasing and playing with goats, to participating in 4H and attending the local rodeo!