I was a lucky one I guess.  My Dad always insisted on living in the country, we may not have had a huge place growing up, but we always had outside space to play and explore in without worry about traffic, predators (other than a coyote here and there), or hearing the neighbors!  How amazing that was to have back then.  We had each other, just our siblings for the most part, unless we traveled via horse or bike to the nearest neighbors.  We had to bike to the neighbors to play in their barn (it was of course, way cooler than ours) always listening for Dad’s whistle calling us home for supper, We pretended to play Army in the tree groves in the pastures, we enjoyed being able to enjoy riding horse through many pastures to the next place to visit and of course play in the closet creek we could find! 

I do remember we spent one summer living in town, oh how I was so jealous for a while after that summer.  Biking on pavement paths, walking to the ice cream parlor, just a few blocks to the bowling alley, just a quick drive to the park, not to mention friends in the same neighborhood (meaning you didn’t have to jump on a horse, bike, or in a car to get to). Oh and I almost forgot – FAST FOOD!   I always thought that was the life, I enjoyed college, being in town, just a moments jump to whatever we needed.

Now that I have kids of my own, looking back there really is amazing things in both Country living and City living, it is just a toss up of how you want your family to experience life.  As I watch my own children growing up in the country on the ranch, able to play in their very own private creek and dams  (shared with all the neighbors kids of course), able to go learn to pick wildflowers and enjoy picking and eating as many wild berries as they can get their hands on, able to look out their window and step foot in the horse pasture with horses just waiting for them.  Not to mention the occasional sighting of black bears, snowmobiling without having to drive anywhere, and exploring little caves (dugouts really :P).

I realize that this is the life I (whoops, I mean WE) chose for them.  I hope someday they will look back and also realize how amazing their childhood was and be grateful for all they were able to experience living out on the ranch.