I was scrolling through my Instagram feed yesterday and came across an image someone had posted about enjoying coffee on their back deck, taking in all the sounds and views her property had to offer. It got me thinking as to why the heck I haven’t done the same yet. We have an incredible back balcony that offers stunning views of the canopy overhead. I took a page from this lovely woman’s book, and did the exact same thing. I enjoyed my coffee from the comfort of a camping chair, sporting my Chacos, with a perfect vantage point of the trees and the calming sounds of the birds and crickets. It was glorious.
Since we’ve lived in this house for two weeks now, I’ve gotten a feel for the terrain and the neighborhood. I’m not so great with the routes and mileage yet, but that will come. In any event, it occurs to me on almost every run now, how much happier and calmer I am here than I was in the “city.” And I didn’t quite realize how “city” we really were until we moved. It’s not like we’re out in the cut or anything. We’re in a pretty populated suburb of Cleveland. Nonetheless, this has been an eye opening experience, that’s for sure. And for those of you who are growing weary of my moving adventures, escapades, and musings, I do apologize. But I feel like I’m on this incredible journey that I wasn’t expecting to be on. Yes, we were moving. But I didn’t realize quite how profound this experience would be for me.
My morning runs are no longer frantic. I don’t panic if I see someone out and about. I don’t have fear at the forefront of my mind like I used to. There’s something incredibly calming about running with the sounds of nature, the rolling hills, and the towering trees. There are a few times that I need to run on a busy, main street, but even then I’m not thrust into panic mode like I used to be when we lived closer to the city.
Country living (if you can call it that) suits me. I was happiest when I was a camper in the north woods of Wisconsin. I was happiest when I was able to drive to the countryside when I was a teenager and take my dog for long walks in the woods. I was happiest at friends’ houses who lived in tree covered areas with a bonfire for the night. I know all of these to be truths about me, and yet I’m still surprised again and again how much of an impact this move has had on my mental well being. It also explains a lot as to why I like small, quiet races best as compared to the big races with a ton of crowd support.
Speaking of races, today’s Friday Five theme is fall races. Since I recently wrote on the topic of bucket list races, I’m not going to visit it again but I will redirect you to that post here so you can check out some of the races I’ve run and others that are on my list. And join the Friday Five! It’s a super fun linkup.
To say that this was the best move for us is a complete understatement. We are so lucky to have found the house that we did, when we did.
Oh, and as for the motivation to unpack that I touched on yesterday? I found it. I’ve unpacked 20 boxes in the last two days. #winning
Have a great holiday weekend, friends. Stay safe and enjoy your time with friends and family!
xo
Do you prefer the quiet, solitude of the country OR the hustle and bustle of city living?
