Bringing the rural life home

Just a little country in the city

Gary and I have been wishing to move to a more rural setting for a long, long time. Actually, when we bought this house, almost 8 years ago, it was a bit of a compromise in that respect. Our house is in a peaceful neighborhood but we really wanted open spaces and fresh air. Unfortunately, due to the conditions of our financing, country living was simply not an option.

So, ever since then, we've been living with a view toward moving out. Which truly is no way to live at all. A house should be a home, not a temporary holding spot.

However, times have changed. Our neighborhood has light rail now. So, our simple, uber-cheap, fixer-upper house in the suburbs has gone up in value. Which has prompted us to seriously consider selling and using the equity/profit as a down payment on that rural dream.

Fast forward to a couple days ago, when something happened that made us think perhaps we'll just stay where we are.

Gary accidentally left his cell phone in the family car and drove off to work in the plumbing van on Monday morning. Meanwhile, I took said car to our favorite grocery store, halfway across town. It took Gary just a minute to realize his mistake. It took about an hour for us to connect so he could get his phone and get to the customer who was anxiously awaiting his arrival.

That really got me thinking. What would we have done if we were living out on the plains or up in the foothills? It would have taken Gary two or three hours instead of just one to reconnect with his wayward phone. Which, incidentally, he cannot do his job without. He might have lost that customer. He might not have his job. Which, let's face it, he is lucky to have, considering what others go through.

Clearly, this is an issue that we never considered in our excitement to finally be able to move to a more rural setting. The commute from the small town we'd like to move to is only marginally do-able. If anything like this should happen again, it would be a major inconvenience. Gary would be risking ruining his reputation for being reliable and prompt. He could jeopardize his relationship with his company and/or his clients.

Kind of a depressing setback for us. I mean, we were really looking forward to making this country dream thing happen. We were so excited. But this phone incident made us realize that even if Gary never forgets his phone again, there are many other things that could happen along this line.

But wait, don't despair. We have found a solution, because...

Serendipity being what it is, the day after the lost phone incident, a yearly event occurred. We received the first of many seed catalogs in the mail. Immediately, a symbolic, yet gleaming light-bulb lit up over my head.

Hey, I may not be able to move to the country, but we can bring the rural life home. You see, while we do live in the burbs, we have a pretty substantial back yard that could easily be turned into a huge urban garden. I mean, we already have a small garden plot out there, but why not go all out and turn the entire back yard into a little mini back 40?

It just might work.

In addition, in our front yard, we could expand on the number of herbs and flowers we already have and deck it out with some rural flavor. Why not?

Who knows? We might even forget that we're in the city, at least for a few precious moments, here and there. Not only that, but with a little paint and some savvy décor, our home's interior could also be countrified.

And, since we have settled on staying. We'll have taken ourselves out of that, “This is just a temporary dwelling” mode of thought, thus making our house feel even more like a home.

Hey, if we can't move to the country, we can bring the country to us, right? You guys, I'm really excited about this. And guess what else? Creating your own dream is way better than purchasing someone else's anyway. And now, I'm off to plan our new country life in the city. And all because Gary left his cell phone in the car by mistake one day.

I guess one never knows where inspirational solutions will come from!