A little roadside happiness

I've always lived in the city, however spent a lot of time in the country growing up and I always feel at my best when I'm in quiet, wide open spaces.  I feel grounded.  I dream of one day living in the country.  A dream that I think of often, but don't quite think I am ready for at this stage in my life.

Although in my mind I have romantic notions of living in a quaint little house in the country with Tim, growing my own fruit and vegetables and raising babies who can run around in the wide open spaces, getting grubby and learning about nature, I recently came to terms with the fact that the timing of this dream is not quite right. 

I am not ready to leave family and friends behind to venture somewhere new and start over and at the back of my mind I wonder if it may also mean that my children may miss out on certain opportunities which may not be available to them in rural areas.  Having said that, there are innumerable things that growing up in the country can give you that you don't experience living in the city.  I was lucky enough to experience the best of both worlds in a way.

Right now, we live in the suburbs of Sydney, but only a very short drive away the buildings get smaller and farther apart and things become greener.  I love that on my way to work, in a matter of minutes I am looking at open paddocks and can see the mountains in the near distance.  I am thankful that I am driving towards this instead of the chaos of the city each day.

With my window down and the fresh air blowing in, my mornings are instantly lifted.  I drive by roadside stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables and beautiful flowers.  Where there's an honesty box to pay instead of a cash register which seems so out of place in this day and age, but I'm glad it's not.  I feel good about buying fresh produce from a local farmer rather than going to a big supermarket chain (although I still have to do my fair share of this) and the flowers that I place on my table always last longer and make me feel happier when I look at them than when I buy a bunch from a florist at the shopping centre.  Somehow it just seems more meaningful.

The pictures above are of a tiny stall that I drive past each day on the way to work and whenever I see it, it just instantly lifts my mood.

So while one day I will have my quaint house with Tim, and my fruit and veges, perhaps the children at my feet with be visiting grandchildren, rather than my own babies.  I love living in the burbs, in our first house that we worked hard to buy together and poured so much into to turn it into our home, because again, I have the best of both worlds.  For now I will settle for this cart to be my romantic notion of country happiness each day.