The Boondocks Ain't So Bad!

As you know I recently moved back into Park City from Peoa, also known as “the middle of nowhere”. Life has become pretty great. 

My house now is approximately four minutes from the grocery store. Peoa is approximately twenty-eight minutes. But if you are a “red light magnet”, which always seems to happen, you are looking closer to a thirty-two minute drive. 

The BEAUTIFUL drive.
*that was sarcasm* 

Let me clarify for you: It’s after dinner, in Peoa, and Mom is making cookies for dessert. OH NO, she forgot the milk. That is a twenty-eight minute drive to the nearest grocery store even if she doesn’t get stopped once. AND our family is safe to make the assumption that there will be no dessert on our table that night. 

Now for the other side of town, Mom is at home (in Park City) making brownies and realizes she forgot the flour… #NOBIGGY. She can drive to the nearest grocery store and be back within the time it would take to even get to the store from Peoa. 

Your possible thought process: “Well I understand that the drive is long but it is probably beautiful the entire way so it can’t be that bad, right?” WRONG. Actually I guess it depends on the person. 

Our cute little farm!

The drive is three colors. Black, being the asphalt of the road. Blue, obviously the color of the sky. And a tannish-brown, which makes up just about everything else. Oh wait, I’m forgetting one. Red, the color of blood. I mean if you enjoy a bland drive accompanied by the bloody guts of roadkill sprawled across the road you would probably take pleasure in driving down Brown’s Canyon. 

I’m sorry, I am being negative again. Peoa isn’t that bad once you get there, it is just the drive that triggers my complaints. 

For instance, that twenty-eight minute drive actually produces a lot of privacy. But seriously, the only sounds I hear out there are the chirps of birds, the moos of cows, and the occasional firing of hunter's gunshots. It makes me feel part of nature. 

As you should know, my family owns two donkeys. It was nice living in Peoa because the animals were only a single hop of the fence away. Eventually we will move back to Peoa, but until then someone will have to make the twenty-eight minute drive to feed the livestock each day. Sadly, this person isn't usually me so I don’t get to see my cute little donkey-donks as often! We also left behind four horses but that wasn’t as hard for me, we weren’t exactly “friends.” 

Blogging always makes me think twice. When I began this post I thought it would mostly comprise my thoughts on not missing Peoa at all. And look where we ended up! I guess Peoa is just like everything else in the world, once you get passed the complications, the perks will reveal. However, the perks will not just uncover themselves, it is up to you to become open to a different perspective. 

Or sometimes the "perks" are right in front of you!

Not So Merry Christmas

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

Christmas lights are going up, snow if falling down, and the holiday cheer is all around! #PoetryByME. HOWEVER, it seems as though the jolly is taking place everywhere besides the place I call home. “Have a holly jolly Christmas and in case you didn't hear”. I guess we didn’t hear. 

It is December 7th, most families in Park City have their trees up and decorated. Well, all but one. 

What most houses in PC look like...
(Photo Courtesy: My Friend Shaye)

What our house looks like. 

Usually our family goes snowmobiling in the Uintas to chop down our tree. Not to mention the date of this expedition is usually December 1st. Today is the 7th. December 7th, and there is currently no big green spruce in my living room. Unacceptable. On top of that, I am also starting to get the vibe from my mom that this special Christmas tree hunting day is not going to take place this year at all. Intolerable. What are we going to do, buy a tree at the nursery? I don’t know that I could live with a “store bought” tree, they are too… Perfect! Every year my family ends up with a lopsided, scrawny, unattractive tree… It’s tradition! As far as I know they don’t sell any trees like that at the supermarket. “Rocking around the Christmas Tree” I hope we get to do this at some point. 

One of the three wreaths.

Christmas time is beautiful. Usually. Everything is covered in shimmery white stuff which makes all the christmas lights pop really well. The atmosphere just isn’t the same this year. The white stuff is completely MIA and the lights are dull against the mud and slush. AND, it was feeling a little hot today so I decided to check the temperature. Fifty degrees! IN DECEMBER. “I'm dreaming of a White Christmas. Just like the ones I used to know.” No clarification needed. 

I guess I should be happy because my family did put a record number of three wreaths up on doors around our house. But that is all we have… Oh wait I almost forgot! We also have these three little glass trees that sit atop our piano. Lots of festivity up in here! Not. “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la la la la!” Apparently we don’t know what “boughs of holly” are.

To top it off, my sister, Katy, goes to college in Vermont. This holiday break she has been given the grand number of five whole days at home. FIVE DAYS. I’m not even kidding. Note to families who still have all their birds in their nest: Ski racing in college will be fun 99 percent of the time, but do not expect to see your child for a large portion of holiday breaks. It is the key time for training and the coaches are willing to do anything to take advantage of it. All I can say is that those five days that Katy is here are going to be crammed with all of the usual holiday activities. “All I want for Christmas is you!” Come home soon!

I am left with nine words, and two question marks: “Where are you Christmas? Why can’t I find you?”