Faint and Far Away

I've got the windows open today, and I can hear the train whistle.  It sounds faint and far away, and that's a blessing.

Nonna and I just finished moving from the village of Shabbona to a rental house on a farmette a few miles north.  We got an offer on our house in town, and had to move pretty fast, so this seemed like a good fit. To people living in a city or suburb, moving from a small town in the country to an actual farm might not seem like much of a change, but it certainly is to us. We've always lived within the boundaries of a municipality of some kind, but not anymore. 

(I should make it clear here that although we're living on a farm, we're not responsible for working the land - the acreage is rented to someone else.  I'm so clumsy and bad with machinery that if I actually tried to farm, the next piece of writing you'd see with my name in it would probably be an accident report.)

The first thing that's different is infrastructure.  We've never used a well and septic system before, and had to ask the landlords if there is anything special to monitor.  Apparently the heat lamp in the well pit is VERY important in winter - who knew?  There's no garbage pickup, so that will have to be arranged.  We had to go from cable TV/internet to separate services for dish television and internet. And the basement is a genuine old creepy limestone vault with six-foot clearance and posts everywhere.  If you know Uncle Marty, you know what Nonna called it right away.

The thing we're most scared of is what will happen in winter.  They usually get the streets in Shabbona plowed pretty quickly after a snowstorm, but how long will it take to get our little gravel road cleared?  Nonna needs to get out and going pretty early in the morning, so that's a concern.  We'll have to see how things go. 

There are positives to the change, too.  The thing that I'm most impressed with right away is the privacy.  Hardly any cars come down our road in a day, and the nearest neighbor is a quarter-mile away, so it's a big change from having our back yard being center stage for two stories of assisted-living residents. If it ever warms up, I could walk around in a bathing suit all day and not make a single soul want to swear off bacon.  It will probably get dusty and noisy around harvest time, but I suppose we can handle that.  Mail delivery is kind of nice, too - we've been going to the post office to pick up our mail for over two decades.  And as I said, that far-off train whistle is a HUGE step in the right direction.  We've lived within a a couple of blocks of a busy freight line for just as long.

So, I'm looking at this as a real adventure.  Expect to hear more about our 'Green Acres Project' in coming posts.  And I really want to thank our kids for all their help - Elizabeth and Eric, Margaret and Nathan really worked their tails off.  And Uncles Matt and Jeff came down with a pickup to help on Saturday - what a great family we have!

Be Happy!

My nephew Matt and his fiancee Shannon are getting married tomorrow, and I want to wish them every happiness.  'Happiness' is one of those words like 'wealth' or 'fun', that means different things to different people, so all I can do is tell you what I think it is.  I have always tried to keep in mind the idea that happiness comes from making other people happy.  When you stop worrying about your own feelings and the things you want, and concentrate on filling other people's needs, you often wake up and realize that you're truly happy yourself.  I'm not saying that I'm always successful at this, but I do try.

Without trying to give a sermon, I think this is a great resolution on which to start a marriage.  This is the thing that the ministers are trying to say when they urge you to 'both give 100%, instead of 50%'.  If you dedicate yourself to your partner's happiness from the beginning, and they do the same for you, you'll find your love increases all the time.  Be happy!

Happy Birthday, Margaret Mary!

Today is Margaret Mary Rice's 29th birthday.  Happy Birthday, my dear!  I can't imagine any daughters better than the three we have.  You're a blessing to us every day!

Margaret and Elijah and Grandpa Go to the Zoo

I had the chance to go with Elijah and his mama to Brookfield Zoo on Tuesday.  The weather was gorgeous, and there were a lot of school groups and families out just enjoying it.  We found out that the little guy really likes giraffes and bears and rhinos.  He wasn't as interested in the big cats, because they were just laying around soaking up the sun. Camels are OK, but the penguin exhibit was crowded and noisy.  He also liked the underwater viewing area for the dolphins, because they were zooming around like missiles.  Movement seems to be the key.

When he really is interested in something, he will point to it with one imperious hand, and everybody has to stop what THEY'RE doing and agree with his choice.  It's really cute and funny.  When he sees a truck or tractor or train moving along, he makes a 'broooommm' sound with his lips.  Lots of trams moving at the zoo on Tuesday, so we heard that a lot, too. 

Margaret was so excited to take Elijah to the zoo, because that's one of her very favorite places.  This picture was taken at the very end of the trip.  He was good as gold all day, and really enjoyed himself.  Much more so than on Wednesday, when he got his 15-month inoculations!