Ruminations

So, I think its human nature to take things for granted, to not know what's important to us until we've lost it. And its possible to lose something important in the middle of a lot of life changes and not even realize how important it was until you happen to get it back.

What's my point? As everyone who was there knows, we grew up as barefoot heathens, which was a whole lot of fun. We had mud puddles to slide in, the intermittent pond in the backyard to stomp through, the fields to go tromping around... Every time as an adult that I go barefoot, it reminds me of growing up. Living again in Ohio, I've realized there are also certain things, like the scent and feel of a humid warm spring evening, or that type of afternoon spring warmth were everything feels body temperature; its hard to describe, but there are certain times of day, ways the air feels or smells, that says to me, this is Ohio, and it feels familiar.

I used to work in landscaping, where I was outdoors all the time. I found that when you work outdoors, you don't play outdoors. I was happy to get that back when I left landscaping. In Milwaukee, I lived in a more populated area, with no yard to speak of, and the colder climate was unfriendly. I reached a new pinnacle of isolation from the outdoors, without realizing it, last year, when I lived in the city, in a building where I opened the windows infrequently, because there wasn't much point. I spent most of my time in my apartment or in the hospital, which is also very isolated from the outdoors.

Then I moved to the suburbs, to a house with a backyard, that also benefits from being close to other backyards. I got a room with windows that open right up and let in the lovely fresh air, breezes, and sounds of nature. Its been winter, so I have had a limited ability to enjoy these things, but then it decided to be spring (hoping it stays this way) and I've been able to spend a lot of time outdoors, having my windows open, watching deer in my backyard. I bought another pair of rain boots.

Part of what I liked about Belize was how we got to run around barefoot, in bathing suits all day, in and out of the water several times throughout the day. I remembered how much I like to play in the water, swimming and snorkeling and kayaking. I decided that I want to make scuba diving one of my (admittedly expensive) hobbies.

I've been thinking about where I want to move after I finish residency. I don't necessary feel obligated to stay wherever I go, but I want there to be at least a chance that I'll want to stay. Which brings me to what I think is important in a place to live. I think I've decided that I want to live near the coast. I want to live somewhere with mild winters, but I want there to still be a definite winter. I want there to be farmers markets. I want to live in a suburb of a medium sized city. I want to work in a medium sized hospital.

I'm kind of thinking Virginia, North Carolina or South Carolina. We'll see how my thoughts on this evolve.