you know you live in the country when


...you can hear the mail lady coming from a mile away
...you can see the milky way on a clear night
...walking down the middle of the road at midnight you're only worried about coyotes
...you can watch storms come and go without feeling a drop of water
...your closest neighbors are bison & longhorns
...the pounding of the gravel road lulls your children to sleep
...the closest town only has a post office, church & grain elevator
...your daughters pull your pants down while you're hanging laundry
and you finish hanging the last 2 pieces before you pull them up
...UPS calls to ask which roads are underwater before coming out

...you find a new frog or two everyday
...half of your children play outside naked at least once a day
...your son can talking farming with the best of them
...you arrive in town 1 1/2 hours away and you kids proclaim
"we're here already...that was fast!"

...your son prays that we "don't get blown away" every night
...a rain storm leaves you wondering if you can mud the roads without your husband
...you see a coyote, deer, skunk, pelican, frog, snake, peacock, sheep, lama, wild turkey, jack rabbit, mud duck, crane & countless birds and bugs on one 12 mile drive
...you scrub the dirt off of the tub after every bath
...you consider this a road...


...I know you must have some too!
let's hear them!
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25 comments:

  1. Well, I don't live in the country anymore... can I do a "You know you live in Brooklyn" post? :)

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  2. I've been enjoying your prose and the photos and the children.

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  3. You go swimming in the nearest deserted "rock pit".

    In high school, your idea of a "party" was to have a bon fire in the middle of a deserted field and everybody pulled their trucks around so you could sit on the tailgates.

    You measure the distance from point A to point B in time instead of miles.

    You measure the distance out of town you live by how long it takes you to get to Walmart.

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  4. This would be my hubby's dream come true. :)

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  5. What a wonderful, perfect place to raise those sweet kids of yours. Feel blessed!

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  6. Im originally from a big city in California and moved to Texas 6 years ago. I feel like i live in the country. Anything i want to do with my children takes me about a half hour to get there. The grocery store is my new "mall" cause its close. :) All of our neighbors got so excited when we found out they were building a 7-11 down the street!! Never thought i would get excited over something like that! :)

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  7. Soooooooooo true!!!!! ;)

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  8. It's sounds like paradise to me, but I know you must be lonely to not have girlfriend to hang out with while your kids play with each other :o(

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  9. Anita Chamblee8/24/10, 8:47 AM

    When it rains the electricity goes out.
    You are too far out for DSL.
    You can hang the laundry and garden in your pjs.
    You need a large bell to ring to call your children in from the creek.
    It is normal to see deer on your way to town.
    You have to travel on a gravel road to get to town.
    You spend all week planning your stops for the one afternoon you do get to town.

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  10. Loosing power isn't a huge deal.
    When you pass 1-2 cars while out walking you think it's "busy" on the road.
    You can stop in the middle of the road, get out and not worry about blocking traffic.

    I love living in the country and found myself nodding along to a lot of what you said as well as the other replies. ;-)

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  11. When you can't remember the last time you washed your car because it is pointless when living on a dirt road:) When you have childhood memories of playing tag and hide-and-seek not on a playground, but in a cornfield!

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  12. You never wear shoes in the summer.
    When they redo your dust control it's like Christmas!
    You burn your trash.
    You don't have a garbage disposal because all your excess waste goes to the livestock.

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  13. You wear your rubber boots more often than any other footwear you own.

    You feel comfortable in your yard with pj's on, since there's hardly any traffic on the road anyway.

    You notice straw in your daughter's curls on a regular basis.

    You aren't quite sure how many cats you have at any one time.

    You can't stand the poor air quality in the city.

    Your kids get in a pony ride before breakfast on a regular basis.

    Your work gloves are wearing out.

    You're trying to figure out what else you can make with all those apples.

    You keep track of how much rain you've had to the tenth of an inch, and talk about it with your neighbors on a regular basis.

    You worry about it raining on the fresh-cut hay.

    When driving, you wave with one finger.

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  14. the3kidsandme8/24/10, 11:51 AM

    Super cute! I have such mixed emotions about living in the country. I love the city, but as I get older, I think I would like the country more... but I hate having to travel so far to do shopping...However maybe I would spend less money right??

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  15. I had a post like this brewing in my head but you gave me the push to get it written - thanks for inspiring me to write about growing up in the country!

    http://thisfamilyof4.blogspot.com/2010/08/walk-down-memory-lane.html

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  16. How about, "You know you live smack dab in the middle of the big city when..."?

    ...you and your husband have to have a discussion about where the car is parked. Down the block? Around the corner? Because if you forget the complicated street sweeping schedule in the surrounding areas, it could be a pricey mistake!

    ...your kids beg to buy a snack from the fruit cart every time you go to the bus stop.

    ...you use your double stroller to carry the groceries home, and make the kids walk/carry them all the way home.

    ...you are kept awake at night by the helicopter flying over the neighborhood behind you, or your upstairs neighbor pounding around upstairs.

    ...it seems like half your budget is spent in quarters: bus fare, parking, and coin op laundry.

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  17. You have a mama turkey with babies walking around in your back yard, and two different ones on the way to church. When you come home after dark you have to make sure there aren't deer darting in front of you. You pass multiple deer dead that have been dragged to the side of the road that haven't been taken away yet by whoever takes them away. They smell from decomposition.

    The quickest way to church is to go on dirt roads, not the paved roads.

    You have to watch out for deer droppings when you're playing volleyball with your friends in their backyard.

    You live by more dirt roads than paved roads.

    Now I have to tell you that although all of this is true, I also live in a northern suburb of Detroit. We've lived here two years now, and our families have been shocked when they come to visit. And although it doesn't take me more than five minutes to get much of anywhere I want (meaning big stores), church is over 20 minutes away and dirt roads are MUCH faster.

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  18. Your have many dogs running free without leashes or the need for collars.

    You swim in the tank on a hot day.

    Your kids play barefoot.

    You put the legs of the crib in mason jars to guard against scorpions.

    You breathe fresh air.

    You have to look up new recipes for the things abundantly growing in your garden.

    You smell like horse and it makes you happy.

    Your photography clients arrive for a shoot and mention that you live in the middle of nowhere.

    You can just walk outside and dove hunt. (sorry, you probably don't like that one)

    You see the sun set in saturated colors on the horizon line, rather than behind high rises.

    You live near (well, not really near) some really great country people.

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  19. Although I live in a (very) small town, it's in the middle of nowhere and we are really out in the country. Thankfully our small town has a grocery, general store, cafe, ice cream shop, and 99 cent theater! It makes life a LOT easier...but anytime we want to go anywhere, it takes over an hour.
    I love, love, LOVE your view of living in a big city. I grew up in what I would have considered a big city, but still never experienced anything like this. It sounds exciting, but I know it would be way too overwhelming for me! Wouldn't it be neat to be able to switch lives for a week or two just to experience both sides?!?

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  20. I like hearing about where you're living now a days!
    That's hillarious about the girls pulling your pants down! I remember that happening when little hands are hanging on. Here I have to pull them up FAST though. ; )

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  21. sixcrazychildren8/25/10, 5:39 AM

    there really are Koala's in the trees at your child's school.... and goannas

    you must drive hours to get a scan for your twins while you are pregnant. The appointment for said scan took all day each time.

    you cannot deliver your babies at your local hospital as they do not have an obstetric service

    there is no paediatric service at your local hospital

    your husband is the only anaesthetist in town

    you cannot get fast internet connection because the six ports available for your town are used up

    you pull up at your friends for a cuppa and you see a family of ducks wandering around as though they own the place

    your children wear barefeet at the grocery store and do not draw strange looks


    I could also add.. "you know you live in a small seaside surfing town" when....

    most of the scooters around town have a rack for a surfboard

    your children's high school has an "Excellence in Surfing" subject....seriously ;)

    when the surf is ON everything else is empty, your tradesman will not turn up and no one answers their phone

    there are more surf shops than any other type of store in town

    your very small children learn to stand on a surfboard before age three and can skateboard before age two

    Gnarly Dude :):)

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  22. LifeAsWeKnowIt8/25/10, 7:29 AM

    that teeny frog is awesome! how'd they catch that???

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  23. Love your photos - makes me long for the country!!

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  24. Brooklyn Jen8/26/10, 1:13 PM

    Hahaha! I think you live in my city!!

    How about... you know you live in the city when every Tuesday you get up at 6:30 am to move your car from one side of the street to the other, and then sit in your car until 8am when you can legally leave it. Then you return at 4:30 in the afternoon, move it back and sit there until 6pm.

    Also, you'll consider renting a car to take a trip instead of using your own car because it's easier than fighting for parking.

    And finally, you pay $35 a day to keep your dog in doggy daycare because that's just what you do. (And yes, you brush his teeth, you feed him a specially prepared meal, you give him vitamins and organic treats. Because even in the city we love our animals!)

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  25. MikeandKatie18/29/10, 6:51 PM

    Oh my! the pants one was hilarious!!!

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Thank you for blessing me with your words!

Brittany