Country Livin'

I thought that I had become a city girl. I wondered how I, being born in the hills of West Virginia and spending many childhood days on the banks of creeks and in the shade of tall trees, could turn out to be a woman who preferred air conditioned restaurants to picnics and movie theaters to hiking. But that's what I thought had happened. Until today. I willingly went outside to help my husband with some chores to encourage family time. He, I, and the boys went out in the yard and started on a few winter preparation jobs. It was a perfect fall day with warm temperatures and a blue sky. So I grabbed a bucket and began pulling weeds from the red rock landscaping in front of the porch. I was sitting on the sidewalk getting dirt under my nails and grass stains on my fingers with the quiet of a Sunday afternoon around me when it hit me. I liked it. I liked the cool air and the smell of fall in the air. I liked looking across the fields to the mountains a few miles away. I liked the sound of nothing. No television, no phones ringing, no radio. Only the sound of peaceful conversation and an occasional laugh as my family enjoyed our time together. So maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm not as much of a city girl as I thought. Maybe those camping trips from years ago still linger somewhere in my mind. Maybe I should go on more picnics and hikes. I think I like them after all. I have a feeling that this city girl is a country girl at heart.