I am finally at a point in my life (FINALLY!!!) that I can relax a bit and know everything will work out for the best. I may not have the biggest house, the fanciest car, clothes, or shoes, but I have all I need. I have a lot of what I want too, and that's saying something. People often tend to live outside (way outside) their financial limits, but I won't do that. It happened to me; it wasn't something I meant to have happen when it did. There were too many times in my life when I had to borrow on credit just to survive. It was not fun. It was not good. It is over, and I thank God EVERY day for the peace I now have.
I was sitting on my couch with my dogs today, just sort of closing my eyes and thinking about life. It wasn't too early; today is Saturday. I had my hot cup of mushroom coffee in my left hand, and I was petting a dog with the other. One or two more dogs were hiding under the blanket, cuddled up next to me, and still a fourth was at my feet, lying on the ottoman. Life is good.
Within seconds, out of nowhere, sirens began blaring, and the roar of an ambulance raced down the street right outside my living room window. We live that close to a hospital. We live close to two, actually, so the sound of ambulances is more or less a constant, but they can still take me by surprise. I hate it. I said a prayer for the drivers, those on the streets, and of course, for the souls who needed their help. As I did this, I realized I was thinking to myself that it would be so much nicer not to have to hear those sirens on a daily, often multiple times a day occurrence. It gets under your skin.
I went to Sam's Club today, too, and realized they had side-by-side stainless steel refrigerators with various gadgets and gizmos all over them. I don't need it. I simply do not need all the fuss. I went to a thrift store this morning and bought a used fridge that does the job for literally 1/5 the price. I'm not joking. The fridge I bought was $250 ($275 delivered), and the one at Sam's was $1349 (free delivery). How many times does $250 go into $1349? (The answer is 5.39, but it's still close to being 1/5.) The guy I bought the fridge from is also really cool. He and his wife run the local downtown thrift store. I'm going back for nightstands, end tables, curtain rods, and other practical needs. (John Grisham books for $2.99)
I can shop at Walmart again after I move because it won't be crowded or full of would-be hooligans, thieves, and thugs. Moving to a small rural town does have its perks. I'm not saying that my new town has no criminals, but we're not crawling with them, and the crimes are different as well. Almost all of us in the rural township will own guns and be able to handle some of the situations. It's harder in the city - more complicated. Besides, in my new town I can have more dogs! They do have a limit, but it's rarely enforced unless it becomes extremely detrimental to the dogs or the neighbors.
Give me simple any day. I walked over a mile today inside Walmart in the new town, thinking I must have moved to the sticks. There are actually 18,000 people in the city, but they don't all shop at the same time. I went aisle after aisle without spotting another person. I loved it. I loved it a lot. I went to a restaurant and ate lunch -- there were 2 others in the place. I didn't have to wait for service. I was waited on, treated like a queen, and again -- LOVED IT.
I'll pull into my gravel drive, drive 100 yards to my house, park my car, pet the horses, and kiss the dogs before going into a place that has a great kid, plenty of space, good food, and almost complete silence. I say it will be silent, I can almost bet you'll still be able to hear the cicadas every evening. There's no getting around that, not in Oklahoma. Give me the simple life anytime. I will take it. I'll take the lower prices, less stress, greater community spirit, and the way folks work together to build each other up.
Just last week, after the SNAP program had been shut down and more than 40% of my new town was affected, you saw the biggest turnout of folks gathering around at the churches and the parks with open truck beds, flatbed trailers, and trunks inviting people to take what they needed. Stores donated, people donated, and it was just so beautiful. It wasn't perfectly organized, but it came together. It was loose-knit, but tightly bound around the hearts of everyone who was there. Give me the simple, more beautiful life - anytime...every time.
13 days!!
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