Where Do You Live?

One of the goals of this trip was to show our kids (and ourselves) how other people live. To show them that there are thousands, millions, billions of different ways you can live your life and to not assume life is just what you see around you or what others tell you it should be. Lately, this concept has become exceptionally evident to me as we go through different terrains and varying states of weather/climate. This is especially true as I sit and watch a hummingbird sip from a delicate flower with a gentle ocean breeze blowing across me as I lounge surrounded by greenery contemplating our recent time in the desert heat and the endless dirt-coated afternoons seeking only cool liquids and escape from the deadly stare of the sun. I feel guilty, somehow. To have escaped. Or lucky. And I consider all the places we have been.

The calm seas of green and brown nothingness across the midwest that seemed to stretched forever (in fact, my son repeatedly said "...but we've already passed this!". How easy it is to become impatient with it.

The flooded areas we drove through, escaped (in St. Louis), saw or heard about.

The storm we drove through in the Petrified Forest of Arizona - where the next morning the kids reported seeing a tree on the playground that had come down from the winds.

The heat. The heat. The HEAT! The rocks, the sand, the dirt. The desert. And I think of the hardships that people go through to live in these places. Why do they do it? I am loving visiting all of these new and strange places...but could I actually LIVE here?!? ARE THEY CRAZY?!?! The cynic in me wonders...is it that some places in this country are lush and green and people with money can afford to live there and the rest of the people get whatever is left over?!?!? And then I realize that it is not this simple. That people are different - some like the heat, and some like the cold. Many of the people I have met in these places would think living through a NY winter the insane choice! Some people need mountains, or open space, or water to feel comfortable. Some people have no fear of rattle snakes, droughts, earthquakes, volcanos, tarantulas, scorpions, tornados, hurricanes, or even black widow spiders (yikes!!!). I'm sure money ALWAYS comes into play when dealing with prime property vs. less than desirable living conditions. But, in the end, we all want to live happy lives...the way we each feel comfortable and see fit whatever that may be. And while it may not look exactly the same, maybe in our hearts it feels the same. We all make sacrifices to live wherever we do...I guess it is just a matter of what we can live with and what we know. I dunno...I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. What do you live with/can't stand to live without? Where is your "normal" and where do you cross the lines of convention?

And what can we as a family live with and what can't we live with? I think we are still figuring that out. Maybe we'll let you know at the end of this trip! :)